Accountability
by Harliquinn
Summary: After a dangerous encounter with enhanced humans, Tony Stark decides someone needs to hold Spiderman accountable for his actions. Warning: contains disciplinary spanking of a teenager by a father figure/mentor. If that isn't your thing, please move on. Flames will be used to warm my cold hands before being deleted.
1. Chapter 1

**ACCOUNTABILITY**

 **Author's Notes:** I've only recently gotten into the Marvel Universe and have watched a few of the movies here and there. But, through reading other fan fictions, I've developed an interest in the relationship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker. I hope I haven't gone too far off character for everyone involved, and I apologize in advance for any errors I have made in describing technology or character. This story assumes that Aunt May knows Peter is Spiderman and takes place sometime between Spiderman Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War.

My writing muse has been absent for a while, and I haven't decided yet if this will be a one-shot or a continuing story. It all depends on whether my muse sticks around and if I get more ideas.

 **UPDATE:** I've revised this chapter to correct grammar, typos, and other errors. I really need to take the time to proofread my writing a lot closer before it's posted. I just get so excited to share it that I don't take the time needed. I've also converted the first person POV to third person. I'm much more comfortable writing in that voice, and I think it works better. There maybe a few other changes here and there, but nothing major. I'll also be editing and reposting the other chapters over time.

 **Summary:** After a dangerous encounter with enhanced humans, Tony Stark decides someone needs to hold Spiderman accountable for his actions. Warning: contains disciplinary spanking of a teenager by a father figure/mentor. If that isn't your thing, please move on. Flames will be used to warm my cold hands before being deleted.

 **CHAPTER 1**

"Sir?"

"What is it now?" Tony Stark demanded grumpily, barely taking his attention away from the minute repair he was making to one of the miniature arc reactors that powered his latest Iron Man suit. Friday hesitated only a second before continuing, "Karen has informed me that Spiderman is currently experiencing difficulty." That statement immediately caught Tony's full attention. "Video," he ordered curtly, taking his attention away from the devices on the work table in front of him.

Watching the live feed from the monitors in Peter's suit, Tony immediately got to his feet and activated his suit. As the nanotech formed around him, he stepped toward the balcony outside his lab. "What have you gotten yourself into this time, kid?" he mused aloud.

It took only moments for Iron Man to arrive at the location of the ensuing battle. Quickly scanning the scene, he took in the devastation below - cars were overturned, a fire hydrant was spraying water high into the air, and at least one building lay in rubble. His attention was caught by the two figures dressed in black leather. What are they supposed to be, he mused briefly, wannabe bikers? His musing was cut short when he saw one of them shoot a blast of what appeared to be air from their hands. Following the path of the blast with his eyes, he watched as it caught Spiderman in mid-swing, sending him tumbling head over heels in mid-air. Tony's heart stopped as he watched a blast of what appeared to be sonic energy coming from the other black-clad villain catch the teenager in mid tumble, sending him hurtling off in another direction.

"Karen, talk to me," Iron Man demanded, holding his breath, waiting for the young superhero to shoot a stream of webbing toward the nearest structure and arrest his free fall. It only took seconds for him to realize that wasn't going to happen. He didn't need Karen's confirmation to know that Peter was unconscious.

Iron Man sped toward the falling teen. "Come on, damn it," he chanted under his breath, urging his suit on to greater speed. The image of Rhodey plummeting to Earth after being hit with a laser blast played over and over in his head. This couldn't be happening again. He wouldn't let it happen again. Tony mentally urged his suit to move faster, terrified that he would be too late.

It seemed like time slowed before Iron Man managed to scoop a still unconscious Spiderman out of the air a mere ten feet from the ground. Making the split second decision to protect the young superhero rather than pursue the bad guys, he instructed Friday to notify the remaining Avengers of the trouble. He then sped off toward HQ, cradling the teenager in his arms.

Three days later . . .

Tony sat in his car outside the Queens apartment building where Peter and his Aunt May lived. His mind wandered back to the incident with the enhanced humans. The doctors at Avengers HQ had determined that the sonic wave that had hit Peter had overwhelmed his senses, causing his brain to overload and shut down, rendering him unconscious. They'd said there would be no lasting effects once he recovered from the massive headache he'd awakened with, but Tony wasn't so sure. He hadn't been able to get the image of Spiderman plummeting toward the Earth out of his mind.

Tony Stark don't know exactly when it happened or how, but Peter Parker had somehow become more than merely a protege to him. They had gotten into a habit of the teenager spending at least a weekend a month (and often at least one night during the week) at the Tower, where they'd usually do some training and work in Tony's lab. Tony had also laid down some ground rules - one of which was that Peter didn't go after anything more dangerous than your typical petty criminal on his own. He'd broken that rule and had nearly gotten his idiotic self killed. Tony couldn't just let that go.

After the kid had been released from the med bay, Tony had driven him home. He'd been in no condition to make his way there as Spiderman, and the older man had had a few things he had wanted to say to the teenager about him risking his life. The last thing Tony had said to Peter before he'd exited the car at his apartment building's front door was that they would be discussing his actions further during Peter's visit to the Tower that weekend. The tone of his voice left no doubt in Peter's mind that he was in trouble. Tony just didn't tell him that he had no idea at that time what he was going to do about it. Peter's actions had clearly shown that being lecturing until Tony was blue in the face or taking his Spiderman suit wouldn't work. Tony sighed and rubbed his hands over his face in a mixture of frustration and resignation. He needed to do something that would really drive the lesson home and make the hotheaded teenager think before he took unnecessary risks with his life in the future.

Tony checked his watch as he made his way into the building. Peter was due home from school in half an hour. That should give him just enough time to talk to May about what he had planned for Peter, he thought. Tony wasn't sure she would approve of his chosen method of discipline, but he didn't want to do it without her consent. Plus, he needed to let her know what had happened. Tony had told Peter to tell her, but somehow he doubted the kid had actually done it.

"Mr. Stark," May greeted him as she usually did - civilly with an edge of ice. Tony know she really doesn't trust him, but she tolerated his presence because she also knew it was in Peter's best interest for him to be in his life. After all, what did she know about being a superhero and the risks it entailed? She was just not equipped to handle everything it involved - and that was one of the reasons Tony had asked to talk to her before he and Peter left for their weekend at the Tower.

"Please, call me Tony," he responded, yet again. They went through the same routine every time they saw each other. Tony wondered if she'd ever feel comfortable enough to call him by his first name.

They attempted to make small talk for a few minutes until May finally asked, "What did you want to talk to me about, Mr. Stark? What has Peter done?"

"What makes you think he's done something?" he responded a bit too glibly. May raised an eyebrow and just gave him a hard look. The gesture clearly asked whether he was being serious. The older man imagined it worked well on Peter, since it had him squirming in his seat.

"Did the kid tell you what happened Tuesday night?" Tony asked. He groaned aloud when she shook her head no. Watching her face as he did so, he told her what he had learned from watching the video footage Karen had recorded and what had happened from the moment he'd shown up on the scene. Her expression cycled from shock to fear to anger - feelings Tony knew all too well, having only recently experienced them himself.

"Something has to be done to curb Peter's tendency to jump in over his head without thinking, or one of these days he's going to bite off more than he can chew" Tony stated, hoping his aunt would agree.

"But what can I do?" she asked as she started pacing the room. "He's basically a good kid." She gave a short laugh. "I've barely had to deal with the typical teenage stuff. I mean, I can't remember the last time I had to punish him for anything."

Tony waited until she passed by him and grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks. "Sit, please." He waited until she'd taken a seat in the armchair next to where he sat on the couch. "I have a suggestion, but you might not like it." He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. "I want to deal with what happened on Tuesday and take over his discipline for Spiderman. He's shown that talking to him or grounding him isn't going to do any good. Spiderman is too much a part of who Peter is, and he's going to do it regardless of what you or I say."

May nodded for Tony to continue. "Exactly what are you proposing to do, then?"

"I plan to spank him - with your permission of course," he hurried to add. Tony held his breath, waiting for her reaction. For some odd reason, what she thought about his plan actually mattered to him. It was a new feeling, as he'd long ago overcome the needed to have the approval of others.

"You want to spank Peter?" She asked a bit incredulously. "Don't you think he's a little old for that?"

"Actually, no, I don't," Tony replied. "Look," he said, leaning back into his seat. He hoped he came across as confident in what he was saying, because he certainly didn't feel that way. "If you have a better option, I'm all for listening to it. If we don't nip Peter's tendency to go off half cocked, he's going to end up seriously hurt or dead." He paused a moment to let that sink in. He was sure May had already figured that out for herself, but he wanted to drive the point home. "So, something drastic has to be done to make him stop and think. I'm not proposing to take over every aspect of his life," he quickly added. "He's still yours for the everyday stuff. I just want to have more flexibility to mentor him as Spiderman - including discipling him when it's needed. I promise," Tony continued, "other than a temporarily sore backside, I won't hurt him."

The silence in the room was definitely awkward. Tony was afraid he was going to have to play his last card - threatening to end his role as Spiderman's mentor if he didn't receive May's blessing. He was about to say just that when Peter's aunt nodded. "Okay," she said reluctantly. Tony sighed in relief. He couldn't help thinking that he'd been doing that a lot lately. He started to say something more, but the sound of a key turning in the lock brought both his and May's attention to the front door just as Peter walked in.

Tony smirked at the surprise on Peter's face when the teenager spotted him. Normally, either he or Happy would pick Peter up on Saturday morning for their weekend together. Tony had never come to get him on Friday afternoon.

"M-Mr. Stark, what are you doing here?"

"You and I are due for a discussion, Underoos," Tony said, studying the kid's body language. He could tell the second Peter realized what the older man was talking about. "Yes, she knows," he said, answering the teenager's unasked question with a nod toward his aunt.

"I can't believe you would do something like that," May said, coming to her feet to stand in front of Peter. "What were you thinking?"

"I, um," Peter stammered, looking between Tony and his aunt.

"I'd like to hear the answer to that as well," Tony commented, not moving from his seat on the couch. He almost felt sorry for the kid, being under the magnifying glass with both May and himself. "I, um," Tony repeated mockingly when Peter didn't say anything further. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?" The kid's tendency to gab had certainly disappeared at the moment.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"You weren't thinking?" Aunt May said sharply. "You could have been killed." She threw her hands up and started pacing the room. "Peter, I don't understand you sometimes. I know you feel like you have to be Spiderman and help people, but you are fifteen years old. You have no business putting yourself in that kind of danger." Her voice rose with each word. May turned and pace away from him, trying to control her temper. Once she had calmed down some, she turned back.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Peter. If it were up to me, you would no longer be Spiderman."

The color drained from his face. "Aunt May, please. You can't take Spider Man away from me. It's part of me. I have to help."

"How are you going to help if you get yourself seriously hurt or killed, kid?" Tony asked sternly. "If I hadn't gotten there in time, that's exactly what would have happened on Tuesday." He came to his feet and moved to stand beside Peter. "Sit," he ordered, giving him a slight push toward the couch he'd just vacated. Once he was seated, Tony continued. "Your aunt and I have made a decision about your activities as Spiderman. You're going to be answering to me beginning right now. I'm going to hold you accountable for your actions." It was clear from Peter's expression and body language that he thought the discussion was over or that Tony would going lightly on him. "This discussion is far from over, Kid," Tony said, his voice hard - probably harder than the teenager had ever heard it. "We're just tabling it from now. You and I have a long, serious talk coming up."

Tony turned to May, silently asking for her consent and back up. He was relieved when she stepped forward. "I'm in complete agreement with Mr. Stark on this." Tony didn't attempt to suppress the smirk that crossed his face when the realization of exactly how much trouble he was in dawned on Peter.

"But . . . "

Tony didn't know what Peter was planning to say, but he immediately cut him off. "But, nothing. Now, go get your stuff together. We're leaving soon. You got homework?" He nodded. "Bring it with you, you'll have time to work on it this weekend."

An hour later they pulled into the parking garage beneath the Tower. Their trip from Queens had been mostly silent. Tony didn't know what had been going through Peter's mind, but his was on what he was going to say and do with the spiderling. This mentor/parental role was a whole new territory for him, and he wasn't quite sure how he wanted to proceed. He glanced over at the teenager, who was staring at his hands.

Tony reached over and put his hand on Peter's knee to draw his attention. He didn't know what to say to the kid. It was a new and decidedly uncomfortable situation. Hell, he thought, was Tony Stark - always ready with a sarcastic comment for every occasion. "Peter," he said simply. As soon as he said it, it dawned on Tony that that may have been the first time he'd ever called the teenager by his name. He swallowed hard, trying to regain some moisture in his suddenly dry mouth. When Peter turned to look at him, the fear in his eyes sent a knife through Tony's heart as he suddenly realized the kid was afraid.

"It's going to be okay," Tony said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "I promise. You screwed up, Peter." He'd planned to start this discussion later when they were both in his office, but he decided now was the time to lay it all out in the open without pulling any punches. "You knew the rules, and you ignored them. So, you have to face the consequences for your actions. That's how it's going to be. But, once it's over, it's over. You will be forgiven, and we won't speak about it again."

Peter nodded. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," he said in a small voice, still not looking up from his hands.

"I know you are, kid. But, you still have to be held accountable for your actions, and you need to be given a reason to think before you act in the future. It's called discipline." Tony hesitated a moment then ordered, "Look at me." He waited until Peter's eyes met his. "What's going through your head?"

Peter shrugged. Tony gave him a hard stare for a moment, and the teenager just looked away. He rolled his eyes and sighed again. Lord, he thought, he really was turning into a damn teenage girl. "Alright, kiddo. Let's get on with it, then." He turned off the car's ignition and unfastened his seatbelt. "Take your stuff to your room, then go to my office. I expect you to be there in fifteen minutes. Take my advice and don't make me have to come looking for you," Tony warned sternly. He left the part about not liking the consequences unsaid. Peter was a smart kid, he could figure that part out for himself. As Peter started to get out of the car, Tony stopped him. "I suggest you think about what you did and why you did it. I'm going to expect answers from you, and a shrug isn't going to cut it." Peter nodded his understanding and climbed out of the car.

Tony watched as the teenager walked toward the private elevator to his private quarters. The kid's shoulders were slumped, and he was dragging his feet like he was on his way to the gallows. That's probably how the kid felt, Tony thought, thinking back to similar experiences from his own childhood. Tony felt like a son of a bitch knowing he was the cause of the kid's pain, but he also knew that if he didn't do something now Spiderman would end up getting himself seriously injured or killed. That couldn't happen, for Peter's sake and for Tony's mental health.

Ten minutes later Tony was sitting at his desk, pretending to review his Stark Industries emails. In reality, he was watching the clock, mentally urging Peter to show up on time. It was going to be hard enough to punish him for his exploits on Tuesday without having to add to it for failure to follow orders.

A knock sounded on the office door. "Enter," Tony ordered curtly. He glanced at the clock on his computer monitor. Assuming it was Peter, he'd made it with 30 seconds to spare. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the door opened and the kid walked in. "Cutting it pretty close, aren't you?" he asked, only then looking up from his computer.

"Yes, sir," he answered quietly. The uncertainty in his voice cut Tony to the quick, especially since he knew he was the one who caused it.

"Close the door and take a seat," Tony ordered, pointing to one of the leather visitor's chairs in front of his desk. Once Peter was seated, Tony moved around to the front of the desk, and leaned on the edge with his legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. His hands were braced on the wooden surface on either side of his hips. He hoped the more casual stance would help the kid relax some. It was one thing for the kid to be nervous, which he should be. But, it was quite another for him to be too scared to carry on a meaningful conversation. That wouldn't help anything.

Tony studied the teenager a moment before asking before asking, "Do you remember when we talked about your role as Spiderman and the importance of your safety?" Now was not the time for small talk.

Peter nodded in response.

"I want to hear your answer."

"Yes," he replied quietly.

"And what did I tell you then, Peter?" Tony could tell the use of the kid's given name rather than one of the many nicknames Tony had for him had startled him. Good, he thought, maybe that would help drive home the seriousness of the matter. The silence in the room was thick as Peter studied the floor. "Well?" Tony demanded.

Peter shrugged.

"I told you earlier that a shrug is not an acceptable answer. Look at me, Peter." Tony waited until the teenager's eyes met his. "What did I tell you about your role as Spiderman and the importance of your safety?" He repeated his question, his voice taking on a sterner edge.

"I was to stick to being a friendly neighborhood Spiderman and not do anything to put myself in unnecessary danger," he finally responded. "And if I ran into something involving enhanced humans, alien tech, or anything more serious than a petty criminal I was to contact you immediately."

"And why is that?"

Tony had to fight back a smirk when he saw Peter stop himself from shrugging in response. "My safety is more important than stopping the bad guys," Peter responded, quoting Tony's exact words back to him. So, the kid did listen after all, Tony thought. That, at least, made him feel slightly better.

Tony nodded to indicate his acceptance of Peter's answer. "So, why did you go after the slabs on your own?" He saw Peter's lips twitch slightly at the Doctor Who reference, glad to see the kid hadn't lost his sense of humor in the seriousness of the situation.

"I . . . um . . . I don't know?" His words were more of a question than a statement.

"I don't know isn't an answer, Mr. Parker. I gave you plenty of time to consider the question. Now, I'd like to hear what you have to say." Tony shifted to cross his arms over his chest.

Peter looked at his mentor, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I didn't realize they were enhanced when I first arrived. Once I realized they were, I thought I could handle them without any help. Karen offered to contact you, but I told her not to do it," he confessed, looking down at his hands again. Tony hadn't been given that information by the suit's AI. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised by that confession, and he didn't know if the kid had actually intended to tell him that. Still, he was going to have a discussion with Karen about withholding pertinent information.

"And how did that work out for you?" Tony asked sarcastically as the image of Spiderman plummeting, unconscious, toward the Earth flashed in his mind.

"Not well."

Tony gave a short bark of laughter. "Not well? That's quite an understatement. When I got there, you had been knocked unconscious and were falling out of the sky. Do you have any idea what could - no, what would - have happened if I'd been just a few seconds later? As it was, I was almost too late." His voice rose with each word, and he was yelling by the end.

He scrubbed his hands over his face in an effort to regain control. Tony started to tell Peter to talk to Rhodes some time about what can happen when you plummet to Earth, but he thought better of it. That would put Rhodey in an uncomfortable position of having to answer questions about an event that had irrevocably changed his life, and not for the better. Tony had never actually talked to his friend about it, and he didn't know if it was something the colonel would want to discuss with the kid. Taking a deep breath, Tony continued more calmly, "You came within seconds of being seriously injured or killed. "That can't happen again."

Peter nodded. "I understand." He was back to studying the floor boards.

"I don't think you really do, Peter. What you did is serious. I meant it when I said that something like that can never happen again." Tony straightened and moved to stand directly in front of Peter. "I'm going to make damn sure you think the next time."

The teenager looked up at Tony and swallowed hard. The seriousness of the situation was finally starting to dawn on him. "What are you going to do?" he asked nervously.

Tony reached down, grasped Peter by the upper arm, and drew him to his feet. He started toward the sofa in the sitting area at the far side of his office, pulling the teenager behind him. "I'm going to tan your hide," he responded.

"No, you can't do that," Peter said. He dug in his heels and struggling to break Tony's grip on his arm. With his enhanced strength, he almost succeeded in gaining his freedom, but Tony managed to get him to the sofa without slowing or breaking his stride.

"I can and I will," Tony stated firmly as he sat on the sofa and pulled Peter to stand between his legs. "Lectures and grounding you obviously haven't worked. You've proven taking your suit isn't an option, either. You'll just go out without its protection. Your Aunt May agrees with me on this. From now on, you answer to me for your actions as Spiderman. If, like now, your offense is serious I will spank you." Tony paused and leveled a hard look at the teenager.

Peter squirmed slightly and nodded his understanding and acceptance. Tears were already forming in his eyes, caused more by the idea that he had so disappointed his mentor than the idea of the upcoming punishment itself.

"Good," Tony said, giving his protege a reassuring smile. "Now, unfasten your jeans."

Tony intended to let Peter keep his dignity by leaving his underwear in place, but he didn't want the thick denim fabric of the kid's blue jeans to act as a cushion against his hand. He knew Peter had increased healing capabilities, but those capabilities didn't stop him from feeling pain. Tony had no idea what he was doing, but he wanted to make sure he spanked Peter hard enough to get his point across without causing injury beyond a sore, reddened backside.

"No, please, Mr. Stark," Peter begged, trying again to pull out of his mentor's grasp.

"Peter, this is going to happen one way or another. If you fight me, you'll only make it harder on yourself. Now, do as you are told."

Tears were already forming in Peter's eyes as he reached down with his free hand to unfasten the button on his jeans. Seeing that he was going to comply with his directions, Tony released his hold on the kid's other arm to make it easier on him. After his jeans were unfastened, Tony grasped Peter by the wrist and guided him over his lap.

"Please, Mr. Stark," the kid tried again. "Don't do this. I'm sorry. It won't ever happen again."

"I know you're sorry, Underoos," Tony said gently. "But this spanking isn't just about punishing you for what you did. Yes, that's part of it, but it's also to help make you think the next time you are in the same situation. Because if I have to do this again, it's going to be a hell of a lot worse." Once Tony was satisfied the kid was in a good position with his upper body on the sofa and his backside at a good angle over his knee, he grasped the waistband of his jeans and pulled them down to his knees. He smiled slightly at the groan that escaped Peter's lips. Tony couldn't help but think about how much he'd hated that moment when he'd been spanked as a child. For some reason, it was almost as bad as the spanking itself.

Tony took a deep breath and steeled himself for what he was about to do. He had been on the receiving end of more than his fair share of spankings as a kid and couldn't help but wonder how his parents had been able to do it. He was ready to call the whole thing off. But, the image of Spiderman falling, unconscious, to Earth once more flashed into his mind, and he brought his hand down hard on the middle of Peter's backside.

Peter jerked at the impact of Tony's hand and let out a gasp. He experimented with the strength behind he swats and the timing until he found the right combination. Tony had never spanked anyone before - even for fun - so he was learning as he went along. By the time Tony found his rhythm, Peter was crying and struggling to avoid his hand. "Quit kicking," Tony ordered, landing a few hard swats to the tops of the teenager's thighs. He caught the hand Peter threw back to try to protect his reddening ass and held it at the small of his back. Tony continued to swat him until his cries became sobs and he'd slumped over Tony's lap in surrender.

"We're almost finished," Tony said and cringed when Peter simply whimpered. He could feel the heat of the kid's reddened backside through his underwear and knew he must be hurting pretty badly. He felt guilty at being the cause of Peter's pain, but he forced himself to continue. "You do not put yourself in unnecessary danger." He punctuated each word with a hard swat to the tender junction where thigh joined buttocks. "You do not face enhanced humans on your own." Again, each word was punctuated with a swat. "And, you do not tell Karen not to contact me when you need help." The last swat fell. "Do you understand?" Tony demanded, his hand resting on Peter's backside. When Peter didn't respond, Tony swatted him again. "I asked you a question, Mr. Parker. I expect an answer."

"Yes." He was sobbing so hard, Tony almost didn't understand him.

"Yes, what?" he questioned.

"Yes, sir," Peter responded a little more clearly. It wasn't exactly the response Tony was after, but he chose to accept it anyway so he could bring this spanking to an end.

"Good boy. We're done." Tony smiled slightly at Peter's sigh of relief. He rubbed the teenager's back gently while he composed himself. When he was ready, Tony helped him come to his feet and looked away as he pulled his jeans back into place. He couldn't help but hear the gasp of pain when the rough fabric rubbed across his sore backside. He'd made sure Peter would be feeling that spanking for a while, although he was sure the teenager would be completely healed by morning.

Tony stood and opened his arms wide. That was all the invitation Peter needed. He threw himself against Tony's chest and wrapped his arms around his back. Tony pulled him close and rested his cheek on the top of his head. It dawned on Tony just how natural the embrace felt. Normally, he wasn't one for physical displays of affection, and he didn't particularly care for being touched. Other than Pepper, Tony couldn't think of anyone else he'd hugged in the last ten years. The mentor and protege stayed that way for several minutes as Peter soaked Tony's shirt with his tears.

Once he regained control, Peter pulled away. "You okay," Tony asked gently as he ruffled his hair. Peter glared at him as he finger combed it back into place.

"Yeah," he said somewhat reluctantly, his glare turning into a sheepish grin.

Tony pointed to the sofa, indicating he wanted Peter to sit. He suppressed the urge to smirk when the teenager winced as his backside made contact with the rich leather of the seat. Tony sat beside Peter and draped an arm around his shoulders, pulling them both into a slump against the backrest. They sat that way for several minutes before Tony said, "Underoos, I'm proud of you." Peter looked at him quizzically. "You are a good person, and I love the way you want to help others. But," he said, pausing for emphasis, "you can't continue to take risks with your safety. If you get seriously injured or killed, who is going to step into your role as the friendly neighborhood Spiderman?" Again, Tony paused to take a deep breath. "And, what do you think that would do to your Aunt May . . . and to me?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter said quietly. "I won't do it again."

"Tony," he corrected. "I think we've reached a first name basis now, don't you?" Tony grinned as he nudged Peter's shoulder with his own. Turning serious again, Tony continued, "I don't ever want to have to do that again, Peter. But, I will if I have to," he felt his words from earlier beared repeating.

"Me, neither," he said. Tony couldn't help himself and laughed at the little boy quality to Peter's voice.

"Just so you know, kid, you are completely forgiven. You've accepted your punishment, and we won't speak of this again." Tony felt him nod against my shoulder. He straightened and came to his feet. "Now, I suggest you go to your room and work on your homework until dinner's ready." He headed toward the door, intending to go to the kitchen to start their meal. He was relieved that it was over and they seemed to be back to our old, easy relationship - at least until the next time the kid screwed up. Tony knew better than to hope this would be a one time thing. Peter Parker was a good kid, but sometimes his impulsive nature and desire to help others got in the way of his good sense and self preservation.

Author's Note: The Doctor Who reference is to the Third Season (NuWho) episode Smith and Jones. The black leather clad slabs were what I pictured in my mind when developing the idea for the enhanced humans.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** It appears my writing muse has decided to stay longer than expected. The idea for this chapter hit me as I was grocery shopping yesterday. It's funny how that happens sometimes. It was helped, I'm sure, by your reviews. I appreciate them, and I'm glad to know that people are enjoying my story.

See Chapter 1 for warnings and story summary.

 **Update:** I'm really not happy with some of the chapters of this story. I'm slowly working my way through them to convert them the first two from first person to third person. I'm also going to rewrite them here and there. I hope you like the changes I've made.

 **CHAPTER 2**

"I'll see your pretzels and raise you two mini chocolate bars," Tony said as he tossed his bet into the pot.

Peter grinned as he matched Tony's bet and called. "Beat that," he crowed as he displayed his hand - four eights. It was summer, and the teenager had been staying at Avengers Tower for a week. They were currently in the common room playing poker with Rhodey and Natasha. Tony figured since they were playing for pretzel sticks and candy bars, he wasn't corrupting the lad too much.

He tossed his two pair onto the table and leaned back in his chair. Peter moved to rake in the pot, but Natasha held up her hand to stall him. "Not so fact, spiderling," she said, using one of Tony's nicknames for him. She laid her cards on the table one at a time - ace, ten, jack, queen, and king of spades. "I think that pot is mine." Tony grinned at the surprised expression on Peter's face, although he didn't know why the teenager was so shocked. Nat had won almost every hand and had a nice pile of goods in front of her. If Tony hadn't known better, he'd have thought she was cheating somehow. She may have been, he thought ruefully. But if she was, he hadn't been able to catch her at it.

"Deal the next hand, Platypus," Tony told Rhodes. He was determined he was going to win at least one hand before the afternoon was over. But before Rhodes could do more than shuffle the cards three cell phones went off simultaneously. Rhodes, Nat and Tony shared a look as they each answered - that couldn't be anything good.

Peter was looking at the three Avengers expectantly as they ended the calls. "A portal has opened in the Bronx," Tony said by way of explanation. Nat and Rhodes were already heading toward the door. He would be joining them soon, but he had to take care of the kid first. It was the first time he'd around when Tony had gotten a call out for Iron Man.

"I'll get my suit and meet you there," Peter said, coming to his feet.

"No, you're staying here. Do your homework," Tony said. "We'll watch a movie when I get back."

"It's summer, I don't have any homework," Peter argued. "Come on, you'll be there. I promise I'll do everything you say. Let me go."

"No," Tony said more firmly. The portal was spewing winged, human-like creatures that were flying around attacking people. He'd heard Nat mutter skrzak. He wasn't familiar with the word, so he didn't know if it was a curse or if she recognized the description of the creatures. "It's too dangerous. You are to stay here - watch a movie, play video games, work out. I don't care what you do to pass the time, but you aren't to set a single toe outside this building. You understand me?" Tony leveled a hard look at the teenager, hoping he understood just how serious he was.

"Yeah, I got it."

That was too easy, Tony thought. "Peter." The warning was clear in his voice.

"I won't take a step out of the building." Peter plopped down in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. There was a rebellious pout on his face.

Tony wasn't convinced the kid was going to obey him. But short of hauling his ass upstairs and locking him in his room, he didn't know what else to do, and he didn't have time to fight about it any longer. The others were waiting. Tony gave Peter a final, hard look that promised swift and painful retribution if he disobeyed his orders, then moved toward the balcony. His Iron Man suit formed around him as he went, and he took off as soon as he cleared the doorway.

Peter waited until Iron Man was out of sight to go retrieve his suit from his bedroom. He changed quickly and made his way up to the building's roof. He had told Tony he wouldn't take a single step outside the building, and technically he wasn't breaking his word. He was going to swing off the roof and didn't intend to actually set foot on the ground anywhere outside the building. What he was doing was totally different, or at least that's what he told himself.

"Karen, show me where they're fighting," Peter directed the AI in his suit as he ran up the stairs to the door that would serve as his access point to the roof. He knew better than to ask Friday to take him there in the elevator, and he really didn't trust her not to sound an alarm if he tried to open a window.

"I do not believe that is a good idea," Karen responded. If Peter hadn't known any better, he would have thought there was a hint of disappointment and concern in her voice.

"It will be okay," he said. He wasn't sure if he was attempting to reassure her or himself. "Besides," he reasoned, "it's not like I couldn't find the location on my own through an Internet search. Something like that is going to be all over the web." The location popped up on his heads-up display. "Thanks, Karen," he said. The AI didn't respond.

"Mr. Parker," Friday chimed in. "I must state my agreement that this is not a very good idea. Mr. Stark instructed you to remain here. He will not be pleased that you disobeyed him."

"Are you under orders to tell him that I've left?"

"No, I am not," she responded.

"If I asked you not to tell him, would you do that?" he asked. He was going to go, either way. He just wanted to know what his chances of getting away with his little adventure were.

Friday paused. Peter could tell she wasn't very happy about his request. "I would not volunteer the information to Mr. Stark," she said reluctantly. "But, I will not lie to him if he asks me about your location."

That was good enough for him. "Thanks, Friday," Peter said, giving the AI what he hoped was a charming smile. He couldn't imagine that Tony would have any reason to check up on him while he was busy with whatever it was they were fighting, so Peter figured he would be in the clear. He would just swing over to watch what was happening. If he kept out of sight and got back here before Tony, his mentor would never know anything about it.

It took Spiderman about fifteen minutes to get to the portal site and take up a position on the side of a nearby building. From his vantage point he could see everything that was happening while staying out of the line of sight of any of the Avengers. He watched what appeared to be an all out battle against - he wasn't quite sure what those creatures were. They reminded him of Golem from the Lord of the Rings movies, only they were a dark purple and had huge wings on their backs. Even from where he was hiding, Peter could see their huge, sharp teeth and long claws. Iron Man and War Machine were zooming around, blasting the things out of the air, while Black Widow was battling them on the ground. Peter honestly couldn't tell who was winning.

One of the creatures flew by where he was hiding. He knew then he shouldn't have done it, but he couldn't help himself. Spiderman sent a stream of webbing toward the creature. The webbing wrapped around the creature's wings, pinning them to its body. It let out a horrific screech as it plummeted to the ground. Two more creatures came Peter's way, and he swung out away from the building and did the same thing to them. With his intentions of remaining hidden and staying out of the fight completely forgotten, Peter became caught up in the battle.

"Sir," Karen suddenly spoke. She had remained silent ever since they'd left the Tower, and Peter was slightly startled at her interruption.

"What is it, Karen?" he asked a little shortly. "I'm a little busy here."

"Mr. Stark is calling."

Peter instructed her to ignore the call. He knew Tony was just going to yell at him and tell him to go back to the Tower. But, he was helping by taking down as many of those creatures as he could. He'd just face the consequences later, he thought. Maybe he'd do such an awesome job that Tony would thank him for his help rather than yell at him.

"Mr. Stark wishes to inform you that you are to get your little spider butt back to the Tower right now and wait for him in his office," Karen reported. Peter was too busy dodging a laser blast that had come his direction to respond or acknowledge the order.

"What the fuck?!" Tony exclaimed loudly as he spotted Spiderman swinging out from the side of a nearby building. He watched as the young superhero quickly webbed up three of those flying creatures, and his heart nearly stopped as Peter had to dodge a stray laser blast from War Machine. "Heads up, we have uninvited guest," he informed the rest of the team. "Spiderman has joined us."

While Ironman was distracted by the kid's sudden appearance, two of those creatures latched onto his back and were pulling him down toward the ground. He growled in a mix of anger and frustration as he activated an electrical charge that sent a pulse along the exterior of his suit. The creatures let go, and he blasted them out of the air.

"Friday, call Spiderman."

"He is not responding to the call," she responded a few moments later. Tony cursed again and blasted another creature out of the air. Where the hell were these things coming from? "Have Karen tell him to get his little spider butt back to the Tower right now and to wait for me in my office." He swerved and fired off more laser blasts. I'm going to kill the kid when I got my hands on him, he thought bitterly.

Tony was very much aware the Peter had completely ignored his order and was still engaged in battling the creatures, but he had to concentrate on his own fight. It seemed like hours passed before the Avengers beat the creatures back through and closed the portal.

After verifying with the others that the battle was, in deed, over and that no one had sustained any injuries more serious than bumps and bruises, Ironman flew in Spiderman's direction. He grabbed a handful of the teenager's suit as the young superhero swung past and practically snatched him out of the air. Ignoring Peter's yelp of surprise, Tony hauled him to the ground as he came in for a landing.

"What the Hell are you doing here, Peter?" He demanded as he raised the face shield of his mask. He transferred his grip from the back of the teenager's suit to his upper arm and gave him a hard shake. "Do you have any idea how much danger you were in?"

"Um," he stammered. "I'm sorry?" It was more of a question than a statement.

Tony was holding onto his temper by a thread. It was all he could do not to upend the kid and blister his ass right then and there. "You know what," he said harshly. "Don't say a single word. You're just going to dig yourself in deeper."

Tony let go of Peter's arm and paced away, attempting to cool off a little. "You move one inch and I'll bust your ass right here and now," he warned without turning around. He had sensed the boy preparing to make a break for it. Tony turned to look at Peter just in time to see him flinch at the harsh words. He was strangely satisfied to see terror written all over the boy's body language. Good, he thought, the kid should be terrified. "Nat, get over here," he said into my communicator as he pinned Peter with a hard look.

"Spiderman, what . . ." she started to say something, but Tony interrupted her. "Rhodey and I will handle the cleanup here. Escort the juvenile delinquent back to the Tower. I don't trust him to make it there on his own." He glared at Peter when he started to say something. Even through the suit Tony could see Peter's hard swallow. He smirked when the kid decided the ground was a lot more interesting than what was going on around him. "Take him straight to my office," he directed without taking his eyes off Peter. "I want him waiting on me when I get there."

Tony watched as Natasha grabbed Peter by the back of his neck and practically frog marched him toward her vehicle. Having been on the receiving end of the assassin's temper more than once in the past, he could almost feel sorry for the kid. He could hear her lecturing him the entire way and flinched in sympathy when she landed a slap on the back of his head before both of them sped off on her motorcycle.

Peter sighed as he looked around Tony's office. He was still in his Spiderman suit, complete with mask. He'd tried to talk Natasha into letting him go to his room to change first. She'd refused, saying only that Tony had ordered her to take him straight to his office, so that was what she was doing.

The woman was scary when she was angry, he thought wryly as he rubbed the back of his head where she'd smacked him. It hadn't really been hard enough to hurt, but it had sure gotten her point across before she'd ordered him to get on her motorcycle so she could take him back to the Tower. Peter was used to thrilling and death defying maneuvers while flying through the air, a bit of spider web serving as the only thing between himself and injury. But the ride back to the Tower had terrified him due to the way the assassin had sped in and out of traffic, basically ignoring the blaring horns and all known safety precautions.

Peter didn't know how long he'd been waiting in Tony's office. He'd tried to talk to Karen, but either she was ignoring him or she had been instructed by Tony not to communicate with him. He was amusing himself by crawling along the ceiling of the office when he heard footsteps outside the door. They sounded a little too heavy to be Nat's, so he wondered if it was Tony finally making an appearance. Suddenly, the teenager was okay with being bored if it meant a delay in the upcoming confrontation. He had a horrible feeling about what was going to happen when Tony did arrive.

Peter's question was answered when the door opened and Tony stepped inside. He winced as he saw the expression on his mentor's face and immediately decided to stay where he was as long as he possibly could.

Tony took his time dealing with the authorities and cleaning up the mess left behind by the skrzak. Natasha had identified the things as creatures from Polish folklore. She'd said they were believed to live in underground labyrinths and attach people who trespassed. Who knew where they'd actually come from or why they chose to come through a portal in the Bronx.

Now Tony stood outside his closed office door mentally preparing himself for what needed to be done. He had talked it over with the others and they'd all agreed that the teenager had earned a harsh punishment. In fact, Rhodes had said that if Tony didn't do it, then he would personally see that Peter didn't want to sit down for at least a week. Natasha had voiced her agreement.

Tony sighed heavily and ran his hands over his face before reaching for the door knob. He was still angry with Peter, but he had finally cooled down enough to be able to deal with him rationally. He'd nearly lost it when he had Friday and Karen replay their conversations with Peter. Friday had now been instructed to notify Tony any time Peter was doing something he shouldn't - even when he'd asked her not to. He had almost given Karen the same instruction, but he decided against it at the last minute. He was afraid it would cause Peter to distrust his AI, which had the potential to be catastrophic. Instead, Karen was instructed to warn Friday whenever Spiderman's life was in danger. She had also been instructed not to communicate with Peter and to ignore any of his attempts to communicate with her while he was in Tony's office. Tony didn't want anything distracting Peter from thinking about the reason he was in there.

Peter wasn't in view when Tony entered his office, but it only took moments for Tony to spot him plastered against the ceiling in the far corner of the room. He moved to the middle of the room and ordered, "Front and center, Mr. Parker," as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Now!" Tony said sharply when the teenager didn't move. "Believe me, you don't want me to have to haul you down from there. There's no place for you to escape to, and you'll only make matters worse for yourself."

Tony took a step forward, ready to carry out his threat. Peter, sensing that his mentor was serious, slowly began making his way across the ceiling before dropping down to stand in front of the older man. The teenager gave every impression of a condemned man being led to his execution. He was probably afraid that was exactly what was going to happen, Tony thought wearily. And to his mind, it wasn't a totally bad thing to let the kid stew about his consequences for a little while longer.

"Friday, scan Peter for injuries," Tony ordered, giving the young man in question a hard look.

"I detect a few minor bruises and a strained muscle in his left shoulder, but no serious injuries." Tony nodded, satisfied that none of Peter's injuries were bad enough to keep him from delivering the ass roasting he had planned.

"Sit." Tony pointed to the visitor's chairs in front of his desk. He had hoped Peter had learned his lesson the last time they had done this, but apparently he was wrong. The kid was too impulsive and had no real sense of self preservation. That needed to change quickly.

Tony waited until Peter was seated before moving to join him. He grabbed the mask off Peter's head as he passed and tossed it on his desk. Turning back to the young man, he leaned against the front of the desk and stuck his hands in the front pockets of his pants.

"Why?"

Peter shrugged. "I don't know," he said quietly.

"I don't know," Tony repeated Peter's words back to him, incredulous that he'd respond that way. He took a step forward and braced his hands on Peter's chair. It trapped him in, and put Tony's face in his. Tony thought the move would work well as an intimidation tactic.

"You lied to me. You deliberately obeyed me. You intentionally placed yourself in danger. Did I leave anything out?" Peter attempted to look away. Tony slapped him lightly on his cheek and pointed to his face. "No, you look at me when I'm talking to you." Tony waited until the teenager was looking him in the eye before he repeated his question. "Why? And your answer had better be more than 'I don't know. ' "

"Because I thought I could help," Peter said, his voice took on a stronger edge. Tony couldn't tell if it was due to stubbornness, courage, or temper, but he really didn't care at that particular moment.

Tony straightened and took a step back. Now we were getting somewhere, he thought. "You thought you could help? Exactly how did you intend to do that? Get in the way of my and War Machine's laser blasts? Get yourself bitten or clawed by one of those creatures? Oh, I know," he said, throwing my hands up in the air dramatically. "You were going to distract us from doing our jobs? Because that is exactly what you did." Tony paused for effect and to take a calming breath. Losing the barely controlled rein he had on his temper wouldn't do either of them any good. "All of us - Rhodes, Nat, me, and you," he said, jamming his finger into Peter's chest, "could have been seriously injured or killed because you showed up and distracted us."

"Mr. Stark," Peter said quietly. "I'm sorry. I thought you . . . well, I thought you were treating me like a kid." He took a deep breath and blew it out. "I wanted to see what was happening. I planned to just stay out of the way, where I could watch what was going on and . . . ." He trailed off.

"Where I wouldn't see you," Tony finished for him and nodded his understanding. Damn it, he cursedly silently. He could hear the tears in the kid's voice, but that didn't change his resolve. He sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Why did you get involved in the fight?"

"One of those creatures was coming my direction. I thought I could handle it." Peter shrugged. "Then, more kept coming, and I guess I just got carried away."

Tony was calmer now that he had the answers he wanted. He wasn't happy, but he was calmer. "Let's see if I've got this straight." He moved to once again lean against the front of his desk and brace his hands on either side of his hips. "You left the Tower after I told you to stay put and went to the location of an active battle - because you thought I was treating you like a kid. Then, rather than keeping yourself safely hidden away - which I still would be upset about, by the way - you decided to actively participate in that battle - because you thought you could handle it. Did I leave anything out?"

Peter shook his head, but remained silent.

"I didn't hear you."

"No, you didn't leave anything out."

"Mr. Parker," Tony said, his voice taking on a hard edge. "We've already had a discussion about you breaking the rules and placing yourself in unnecessary danger. This goes way beyond that. This was deliberate disobedience verging on stupidity. I didn't tell you to stay here, away from the fight, just to hear myself speak." He gave a brief laugh. "Yeah, I know, I love the sound of my own voice, but not this time." He swallowed hard, not wanting to do what he had to do next. "Do you have anything else to say in your defense?"

"No, sir," Peter said, "just . . . I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"I'm sure it won't," Tony replied, coming to his feet. "Or at least not the same way." The older man watched Peter's eye widen in alarm as his hands went to his belt buckle. Tony had debated doing this - even going so far as to discuss it with the others. They'd been in agreement. Peter's actions were serious and deserved serious consequences.

"Karen," he said as he pulled his belt off and folded it, "disable all suit protections until further notice." Tony wanted it to be crystal clear to Peter that he was being punished for his actions as Spiderman. Plus, Tony wanted this one to really make an impression on the young man in front of him. He knew that he should know better, but he really hoped this would be the last time he had to do this. "Get your little spider butt over to the couch."

Peter swallowed hard as he made his way over to the couch. He had never been spanked with a belt before, but he instinctively knew this was going to be a lot worse than last time he'd been in this position. How could I have been so stupid, he silently asked himself. The thing was, he really couldn't argue that he didn't deserve to be punished. He had risked his own life and the lives of not only the Avengers, but of civilians who were in the path of those creatures. He felt guilty about that.

Tony had followed Peter across the room. When they reached their destination, he patted the teenager on the back reassuringly before taking a seat. He grasped Peter by the wrist and pulled him down so the kid's lanky body laid across his lap, with his upper body resting on the couch. "Comfy?" Tony asked sarcastically, not expecting a response.

"Do we need to discuss why we are doing this?"

"No, sir," Peter responded softly, hating that he was already crying. He gasped when the first lick of the belt fell across the middle of his backside. It felt like a strip of fire had been left behind. Yeah, this was really going to suck, he thought.

Peter tried to keep track of the licks that fell, but he soon lost count. It felt like his backside was on fire, and he didn't think it was ever going to end. Finally, he heard Tony saying it was over.

He continued to layover Tony's lap for a few more minutes while Tony rubbed soothing circles on his back. When he finally pulled himself together Peter moved to stand up. Tony stood with him and pulled the teenager into his arms. Peter rested his head against his chest and lost himself in the embrace and soaked the other man's shirt with his tears.

Mentor and protege stood that way for several minutes "We good?" Tony asked, looking down into Peter's eyes when he started to pull away.

"We're good," he responded, realizing that they really were. Peter didn't hold it against Tony. He knew he had deserved that whipping. He wouldn't have admitted that to anyone else, but it was the truth. He reached up with one hand to wipe the tears from his face as he used the other one to attempt to rub some of the fire from his backside. He hoped his healing factor kicked in soon, because he really didn't relish the thought of sitting down any time soon.

Tony studied his protege for a moment before hooking his arm around Peter's neck and pulling him close so he could ruffle his hair. Peter hated when Tony did that, so he pushed him away.

"Just so you know, kiddo, everything is forgiven. You've been punished, now we move on."

"Really?"

"Really," he grinned. "Now, let's go show the others I haven't kill you. They were a little concerned about your future well-being."

Peter groaned in embarrassment. Everyone knew he'd just gotten his ass handed to him by Tony. Was it possible to die of humiliation, he wondered.

"It's not that bad. You'll survive." Tony laughed as he pulled Peter toward the door. He suspected that his fellow Avengers would baby the little spider just a bit, despite their own anger at his actions.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** This chapter is going to be a bit different from the first two. The first two chapters were written in first person. However, the idea for this one came to me in third person. To be honest, it feels more comfortable and right to write in this voice. I am considering going back and re-writing the first two chapters for that reason.

 **Update:** I've edited this chapter to correct some errors, but I have otherwise left it pretty much unchanged from the original version.

 **CHAPTER 3**

It was 3:00 in the morning, and Peter Parker was sitting on a rooftop a couple of blocks away from the apartment where he lived with his Aunt May. He had snuck out of the apartment after May had gone to bed. He had intended to go to bed himself. It had been a long day, and he'd just gotten home from a long patrol. But, his mind wouldn't settle down and let him sleep. So, he'd donned his Spiderman suit and come to this rooftop so he could sit and think through the stuff on his mind in solitude.

It had been a week since he'd returned to the apartment from his stay at Avenger's Tower, and it had been another week beyond that since his encounter with Tony Stark's belt. A shudder ran down Peter's spine at the thought of it. He knew he'd deserved the whipping he'd received for being so reckless, and he was in no hurry to repeat it any time soon. Afterward, he'd been so afraid the other Avengers would give him a hard time about what had happened that he'd considered avoiding them. But, the only indication they'd given that they knew about it was the cushion tossed on the spot on the floor where he usually sat while they watched movies. Tony had been true to his word. Neither the incident with the skrzak nor the discussion they'd had afterwards had been mentioned again.

That wasn't what had been bothering Peter, though. His thoughts had been consumed with the question of whether he'd really been making a difference as Spiderman. Sure, he was a superhero, but all he did was minor stuff - stopping robberies and rescuing cats from trees. It wasn't like he was saving the world - not like the Avengers. He thought maybe it was time to have another talk with Tony about joining the Avengers team. As quickly as that thought came, he dismissed it. Tony, and if he was honest with himself, the others, would tell him no because he was too young. It made him a little angry. He knew he was capable of more than he was allowed to do. He just didn't know how to make Tony see that without getting himself into trouble again.

His train of thought was interrupted by the ringing of his cellphone and Karen's announcement. "Sir, Mr. Stark is calling."

Ignoring the call, Peter glanced down at the extra set of web shooters on his wrist. He and Tony had been working on them together, and Peter had taken them from the lab the night before he'd come home. He had tested them for the first time tonight, and decided they still needed some adjustments. They weren't quite as responsive to his commands as he would like. To be honest, he was surprised Tony hadn't called him before then about them being missing.

"Sir," Karen interrupted again. "Mr. Stark wishes me to inform you that you had better be home and in bed in fifteen minutes or he will be coming to retrieve you himself. You will not like the consequences if that happens. You are to also damn well answer the phone when he calls you." The AI paused. "You will be having a serious discussion soon about breaking curfew."

Peter sighed heavily and stood. That was another thing that bugged him. It seemed like Tony was always watching what he did. He couldn't so much as sneeze without his mentor knowing about it.

Stretching, Peter yawned hugely. He supposed he was tired and could use some sleep. "Karen," he said as he shot a web to the ledge of a nearby building and swung off the roof. "Send Mr. Stark a text message. Say 'whatever'." Peter wracked his brain for a moment, "and send it in welsh." The AI voiced her compliance, and Peter grinned slightly. He had no idea if Tony Stark spoke the language, but the idea of Tony having to translate his message made him grin.

XXXXXXXXX

"Boss."

Tony jerked awake at Friday's 's summons. "What?" He scrubbed his hands across his tired eyes and stretched. He'd fallen asleep at his work bench, where he had been tinkering with an upgrade to Rhodey's leg braces. "Somebody better be dying," he complained as he glanced at his watch.

"Karen reports that Mr. Parker went out as Spiderman after curfew and has been stationary for the last half hour."

"Is he hurt?" Tony demanded, suddenly alert.

"No, sir," the AI responded. "He seems to be sitting on a rooftop."

"Doing what?" Tony paused. "Nevermind. Friday, call him." He waited impatiently while the AI attempted the call.

"He is not answering the call."

"Damn it," Tony cursed. "Of course he isn't. That would be too easy." He paused, briefly considering donning the Iron Man suit and going to drag the kid home. "Friday, send Peter a message through Karen. Tell the kid that his little spider butt had better be home and in bed in fifteen minutes, or I'm coming after him. He won't like the consequences if I have to do that." He glanced over at the workbench he shared with Peter, something was off but he couldn't place what it was. "Tell him, too, that he and I will be having a serious discussion about breaking curfew."

Tony paced the lab, waiting to see if Peter obeyed his orders. "Boss, Peter is on his way home."

"Good," he nodded. "At least he's doing what he's told, for once," he said sarcastically. Now, he just had to figure out what he was going to do with the disobedient little brat.

"Peter has sent a text message."

"Show me," Tony directed. He watched as a heads up display appeared and the text "beth bynnag" appeared. "What the Hell language is that?" he demanded. "Friday, translate it."

"Yes, Boss," the AI responded. Only a moment passed before she spoke again. "It is welsh and means 'whatever.'"

"I'm going to bust his ass." Tony was sure if he should be angry or proud of the kid's impertinence.

XXXXXXXXX

Early the next morning Tony found himself knocking on the door to the apartment shared by Peter and May Parker. He heard footsteps on the other side of the door and leaned against the door jam, trying to maintain the casual, careless image he tended to betray in public. He was playing the odds that it would be May rather than Peter who answered the door.

He was right. May jerked the door open and demanded, "What do you want, Mr. Stark. I'm going to be late for work."

Tony brushed past her into the apartment. "I won't hold you up," he said, moving to make himself at home on the couch. "I need to talk to Peter about a few things."

"What kind of things," May questioned, coming to stand in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a hard stare. She glanced at her watch. "And hurry up, I'm going to be late for work."

He leaned back and spread his arms across the back of the seat. "He went back out as Spiderman last night after you went to bed." And 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

"He what?!" May demanded.

"I'm here to discuss it with the kid."

"What are you going to do?" May asked, pacing the room. So much for being at work on time, she thought. Maybe her boss would be late, and he wouldn't notice her tardiness.

Tony stood and moved to place an arm around May's shoulders. Steering her toward the door, he picked up her tote bag and sweater and handed them to her. "I haven't decided. It depends on Peter's attitude - I'm either going to ground him from Spiderman for two weeks or tan his hide."

"But . . ." May started to interrupt, as she accepted her belongings from Tony.

"You don't want to be late for work," he said, once again steering her toward the door with his arm around her shoulders. "I'll call you later to let you know what happened." He opened the door and waited until May stepped through. "I'll just wait here until Peter wakes up." He shut the door in May's face and leaned against it for a few minutes. He shook his head as he made his way back to the couch. He almost felt sorry for Peter having to face May later.

XXXXXXXXX

Three hours later Tony looked up from his tablet as Peter walked into the living room. "It's about time you joined the living."

Peter gave a squeak of surprise and turned the man sitting on the couch. "M . Mr. Stark, what are you doing here?"

"Did you just squeak? Was that a squeak I heard?" Tony watched as the teenager blushed in embarrassment. He filed that little bit of information away to use at a later time. They had more important things to discuss. "Get your breakfast. We have something to discuss."

Peter blanched. He knew exactly what they would be discussing, although he was sure there would be less discussion and more lecture and punishment involved. "Yes, sir." He hurried the short distance to the small kitchen and grabbed a can of cola from the refrigerator and a protein bar from a cabinet. Carrying both, he returned to the living room to sit in the arm chair across from Tony.

"Really? That's what you're having for breakfast?" Tony asked, eyeing the can of cola. "Go get a glass of milk or juice to go with that bar."

Peter wanted to argue, but he immediately thought better of it. He was probably in enough trouble already and didn't need to make things worse. He went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of milk. It took only a few minutes for him to finish his meal.

After Peter was finished eating, Tony set aside his tablet and gave the teenager a long, hard look. "I don't suppose I need to tell you what this discussion is about?"

"No, sir."

Tony nodded, secretly approving. "Talk to me, Peter. Why did you go back out after curfew last night? Your Aunt May and I set that curfew for a reason. We weren't just trying to deny you your fun."

Peter shrugged. "What difference does it make? You're going to punish me for it anyway."

Tony closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. Just when he thought the kid might be growing up a bit. "What I do or don't do is going to depend on your reason for going back out. So, at the risk of repeating myself, talk to me, Peter."

"It was nothing," Peter said, refusing to meet Tony's gaze. "I had something to think about."

This was going to be like pulling teeth, Tony thought. "And what was so important that you couldn't think about it in your own apartment?"

"I told you, it was nothing," Peter repeated, his voice growing a little heated. "You'll think it's stupid, and I don't want to talk about it." There was no way he was going to share those thoughts with Tony. They were embarrassing, and Tony would think he was just a little kid. No, he thought, he'd rather take whatever punishment Tony was going to mete out.

"Kid," Tony sighed and leaned forward to prop his elbows on his knees. "The only stupid thing here is you getting a sore ass because you won't talk to me." He paused a minute for his words to sink in. "Beause you keep refusing to talk to me, I can't help but think you really didn't have a reason for disobeying me and breaking curfew. If that's the case, you've earned yourself a spanking. If you had a reason, tell me what it is. We can discuss it."

"You'll just spank me anyway, so what's the use?" Peter demanded.

Tony just shook his head at the kid's stubborn stupidity. "If you have a good reason for going back out after curfew, we'll discuss it. That includes what your punishment will be - or even if there will be a punishment." Please talk to me, kid, he begged silently. He really didn't want to have to follow through with his threat, but he was afraid Peter would leave him no choice.

"Pete," he said, deciding to give it one more stab. "Please, just talk to me. I really don't want to have to punish you for breaking curfew. Just give me a reason not to do it."

Peter looked down at the hands he'd clasped in his lap. Suddenly, the hangnail on his left thumb was the most interesting thing in the room. He had a decision to make - tell Tony about not feeling like he was making a difference and that he was tired of being treated like a child, make up something else off the top of his head, or be spanked. He really wasn't ready to share his thoughts, especially since he wasn't sure he completely understood them himself. Plus, the irony wasn't lost on him that his other complaint was being treated like a child when he was facing getting his backside tanned. He wasn't sure he could come up with something on the fly that didn't reveal his thoughts but would satisfy Tony. Plus, he was sure Tony would be able to tell he was lying, and that would definitely get him spankef. Peter sighed, resigned to his fate. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I'm not ready to talk about it yet."

Tony scrubbed his hands over his face. Damn. "You know that means I have no choice, Pete."

Peter swallowed hard. He hated this. "Yes, sir."

Tony nodded. "Well, let's get this over with, then. Come here, Mr. Parker." He waited as Peter made his way slowly to his side. "Last chance," he said as he guided the teenager over his lap. Once Peter was settled in place, Tony hooked his fingers in the back of the boy's pajama pants and pulled them down to the middle of his thighs.

Steeling himself for what he was about to do, he brought his hand down sharply on the middle of the upturned backside. He ignored Peter's yelps as he brought his hand down a dozen more times before pausing, his hand resting on the boy's upper thighs. "You do not break the curfew set for you by your aunt and me. It's in place for your protection." He applied a few swats to Peter's sit spots. Tony didn't want to make this a serious punishment, but he still needed to get his point across. "And, while we're at it, you answer whenever I call you when you're out as Spiderman. There's no exception to that rule. Got it?" A few more swats landed. He was going to give the boy a pass on his smart ass reply. After all, he couldn't punish the boy for something he did himself.

Tony reached down and pulled Peter's pajama pants back into place, and helped Peter to his feet. He could see the question in the boy's eyes over the relative lenancy of the punishment. He pulled Peter to stand in front of him. "I let you off easy because you obviously have something on your mind. I wish you would have told me what it is, but I'm ready to listen whenever you're ready to talk."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. It's just that it's all jumbled up in my head, and I'm not sure I can make enough sense of it to explain it to you." He reached back and rubbed at the sting in his backside.

Tony nodded his understanding before pulling Peter in for a hug. "Either way, all's forgiven, kid. Just try to stay in your apartment after your curfew. If you need someplace to go to think, you can use the roof of this building. Just don't go anywhere as Spiderman, got it?"

"Got it," Peter replied.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the reviews and favorites. It makes me happy to find them in my inbox.

This is just a quick chapter to set up something I'm playing with for a future chapter.

 **Update:** I've never really been happy with this chapter, so parts of it have been rewritten. I've also combined it with what was originally posted as an additional scene labeled Chapter 4A.

 **CHAPTER 4**

Peter and Tony sat side by side on the couch in Tony's penthouse apartment in the Avengers Tower. It was Saturday night, and they were having their last weekend together before school started again on Monday. A bowl of popcorn sat on the couch between them. They watched in companionable silence as the Doctor ran down a corridor, his coat and the tails of his oversized scarf trailing behind him. 

"Mr. Stark?" Peter grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl. Instead of popping it into his mouth, he played with the pieces in his hand. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Tony glanced over at the teenager. Seeing a mixture of nervousness and seriousness on the kid's face, he reached for the remote control lying on the coffee table and switched the television off in the middle of the Doctor's debate over whether he had the right to end the Dalek threat before it could begin. He shifted in his seat so he was turned sideways, facing Peter. Propping his elbow on the back of the couch, he leaned his head on his hand. "You know you can talk to me about anything, Pete." Please, Tony thought, don't let this be about a girl. He really didn't want to have to have "the talk" with him.

Peter fidgeted a little before looking up at Tony. The older man's heart nearly broke at the uncertainty in his eyes. Whatever the kid had on his mind was serious.

"You know I've had something on my mind," Peter started, not quite sure how to say what had been worrying him.

"Yeah, I know. I'm glad you're ready to talk about it." Finally, Tony thought to himself.

"Well," Peter started. He dumped the popcorn in his hand back into the bowl and wiped his hand clean on the leg of his jeans. Tony winced at the smear of salt and butter left behind but didn't say anything. "I've been thinking about stuff … about how, you know, I'm just the Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman." He air quoted with his fingers to emphasize the words "Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman."

"Okay," Tony responded, not sure if he really wanted to know where this was going to go. He nodded for Peter to continue.

"I guess . . . I mean . . ." Peter stumbled over what he was trying to say. But before he could continue, a ping sounded that signaled the arrival of the penthouse's private elevator.

Tony silently cursed at the sound and the way Peter stiffed at the impending intrusion into what the boy clearly considered a private and personal matter. "Stay here. I'll get rid of whoever it is, and we can continue our talk." He stood and patted Peter on the shoulder as he walked past.

Only a few people had access to his private elevator, and Tony wasn't expecting any of them to arrive. He was standing in front of the elevator, arms crossed over his chest when the doors opened and Pepper Potts emerged, typing something on her cell phone. Dammit, he thought irritably as he suddenly remembered that Pepper had been due home from her SI business trip. She was hoping to get home before Peter left so she could finally meet him. She had been traveling on corporate business so much over the last several months that she had always been gone whenever Peter had been at the Tower.

Pepper looked up and gave a slight gasp of surprise to see Tony standing there. She'd expected him to be in his lab with Peter. Her plan had been to change clothes and go down there to surprise them. She was also surprised at Tony's expression. She knew him well enough to know that he was upset about something but was trying to hide it.

Even with his back turned to the teenager, Tony knew when Peter stood. His expression hardened when Peter stammered, "You've got business to discuss. I'll just … um ..."

Tony intentionally softened his expression as he turned back to find the kid halfway to the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. "No, Peter, stay. Pepper will give us some time, and we can get back to whatever it is you wanted to talk about. "

Turning back to Pepper, Tony stepped forward and enveloped her in a welcoming hug. He missed her when she traveled, which was far too often for his liking. "Now's really not a good time. The kid's had something on his mind and is finally ready to talk," he said softly so only she would hear.

Pepper glanced in Peter's direction and saw the teenager still standing by the couch. He looked lost and uncertain as to whether he should stay or leave. Turning back to Tony she nodded and said quietly, "I'll be down in my office, have Friday let me know if you want me to come back up. Otherwise, come get me when he goes to bed. I'll meet him in the morning. "

Tony nodded his thanks and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. "I'll see you in a bit." He watched as she boarded the elevator to go down to the floor where she kept a private office. He regretted that the timing wasn't right for the two most important people in his life to finally meet.

Turning back to Peter, Tony gestured toward the couch where they'd been sitting only a few minutes before. Without waiting for the teenager, Tony plopped down on the couch and resumed his previous position. "Now," he said encouragingly, "What about Spiderman?"

"But, what about Ms. Potts. She just got home. You should be with her. We can talk about it later," Peter protested, looking around trying to remember where he had dropped his backpack. He would grab it on his way out the door, and he could take the subway home rather than waiting on Happy to drive him. "I'll call Ms. Potts and let her know she can come back."

"No, Pete," Tony said as he reached over and grabbed Peter's wrist and pulled him down onto the couch. He could tell the teenager was close to losing his nerve and was preparing to back away from talking about what had been bothering him.

Peter had no choice but to either fall unceremoniously onto the seat or sit down on his own. He chose to sit.

"It's just you and me right now," Tony reassured him. "Let's talk. Something's been bothering you. I can't help you with it unless I know what it is."

Peter fidgeted until Tony put his hand on his knee. "Kiddo?"

He took a deep breath and blew it out. "IthinkIcandomorethanbeafriendlyneighborhoodSpiderman." Peter spoke so fast it came out as one single, long word.

Tony shook his head in amusement. "How 'bout you try that again, only slower this time so I can understand you?"

Peter nodded. "I think I can do more than be a friendly neighborhood Spiderman. I'm a superhero. I can do more to help more people." Now that he'd started, the dam had broken. "You and the others just treat me like a little kid. I'm not a little kid."

Tony rolled his eyes. Of all the things to be bothering the kid. Although, he supposed it was natural for the kid to want to do more. After all, that was the reason behind nine-tenths of the trouble he got himself into.

"Peter, it's perfectly natural for you to want to do more. That's who you are. That's the reason you're Spiderman - and one of the reasons I took you on as my protege'." Tony's expression grew more serious. "But, you're still young. Damnit, you're only fifteen."

Peter started to interrupt, but Tony held up a hand to stall him while he continued. "You're impetuous and don't think things through. You act first and think later, and that gets you into trouble. I've been trying to get you to stop and think before you jump in head first. One day you'll be ready to become an Avenger. I've always thought you're going to be the best of us, and I still think that. But, today, you're just not ready."

"Mr. Stark," Peter started to interrupt. He hadn't really thought about what he'd expected Tony to say, and he wasn't sure he liked what he was hearing - even if he had to admit, if only to himself, there was some truth to it. "I can do more to help."

Tony nodded and sat back on the couch. "You think you're ready to join the Avengers?"

Peter nodded.

Tony ran his hands over his face and sighed heavily. He would have rolled his eyes, too, but he was afraid he'd have rolled them so far they'd get stuck. "Okay, Peter," he said. "I'll start working you into missions here and there." He held up a hand to forestall the teenager's excitement. "But, they will be missions that aren't too dangerous and that won't interfere with school. And, Mr. Parker, I'm telling you right now - you will do exactly what you're told without question. You disobey any order given to you, by me or any of the others, or go off half-cocked on your own or otherwise put yourself in any unnecessary danger, your ass will become reacquainted with my belt and you'll lose the privilege of joining us on missions. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?" Tony had a bad feeling that the kid hadn't heard anything past being told he would be allowed to join in on Avengers missions.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Stark," Peter said excitedly. "When can I go on my first mission?"

The older man just groaned. "We'll see." He watched as Peter reached for the remote control to turn the television back on. "The rules we have in place still apply kid - especially the ones about your curfew and putting yourself in danger."

Peter nodded. His attention was already consumed by his excitement at the idea of being part of the team.

"I hope you don't make me regret this, Underoos," Tony said more to himself than to Peter.

Two hours later Tony found himself standing in front of the door to Pepper's office. Peter had left a few minutes before with Happy to return home. Tony had invited him to stay the night, as had originally been planned, but secretly he'd been relieved when the boy had insisted on returning home to give him and Pepper some time alone."

Tony smiled as he watched Pepper through the open door way. She was so intent on what she was doing that she hadn't yet looked up to see him standing there. He knew without a doubt that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He must have made a noise or movement that caught Pepper's attention. She suddenly looked up to see him standing in the doorway to her office. She had insisted on keeping her office apart from their living quarters so as to have a true separation of her work and personal lives, although for the last several months she hadn't had much of a personal life due to the constant demands of her job.

Pepper reached up and rubbed at the back of her neck, trying to ease the constant ache that had set up there. Flexing her shoulders to release some of the tension residing there, she rose from her desk and moved to join her lover.

They embraced and shared a passionate kiss that hinted at a promise of more to come later. Finally drawing back, Pepper smiled and taking Tony's hand, led him into the room.

Tony watched as Pepper started a pot of coffee brewing for him. Once it was ready, she filled a large mug with the potent brew and brought it to him. She handed the mug to him before taking a seat beside him on the couch.

"So that was the infamous Peter Parker. He's younger than I thought he would be," she said.

"Yeah, he's fifteen going on thinking he's an adult," Tony stated sarcastically as he took a sip of his coffee. He signed heartedly in appreciation. Not only was Pepper a brilliant CEO, but she made an excellent cup of coffee. He relayed his and Peter's conversation. Finally, he ended with, "I'm not sure he fully understands what he's asking. I think all he sees is the opportunity to go after more serious bad guys."

"Well," Pepper said as she reached for Tony's coffee mug and took a sip. "At least he's got you to keep an eye on him and to haul him back into line if he strays too far."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the reviews on my last chapter and a half. They inspire me to keep writing.

There's a surprise visit from a former Avenger in this chapter. It may not be canon, but this is fanfiction. Does canon really count?

I'm going to say up front that I know absolutely nothing about the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. I've taken liberty with the layout and design of the building where it is located. Any accuracy in the way I've described it is purely coincidental.

 **Update:** Like the previous chapters this one has also been revised to correct errors.

 **Chapter 5**

Peter swiped a french fry through the pool of ketchup on this plate and stuffed it in his mouth. Dinner at the Avengers Tower that Friday night was cheese burgers and fries. He and Tony had been chatting about his week at school, but the teenager had something else on his mind.

"You gonna actually let me go on a mission with you, or did you tell me that to shut me up?" Peter demanded out of the blue as he sat back in the chair and crossed his arms over his thin chest.

Tony glanced around the room, pretending to be looking for someone. "I'm sorry, were you talking to me?" he demanded, giving Peter a hard look. "Because I know you wouldn't have just spoken to me that way." He took a bite of his burger and chewed slowly. They had a relaxed relationship, but he wasn't about to accept disrespect from the boy. "Want to try that again?"

Peter only glared at his mentor. "You promised to let me go on a mission with you. It's been two months."

"So, you think I haven't lived up to my promise?" Tony replied. Turning serious, he steepled his fingers in front of his chest. "Tell me what I said was the criteria for you getting to go on a mission."

Peter rolled his eyes, earning a hard glare from Tony. "Not too dangerous and not interfere with school," he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "But that's just bullshit. You'll never think a mission isn't too dangerous, and you took me out of school to go to Germany. You didn't care then."

Tony held a hand to his ear. "What was that you said, I couldn't quite hear you for the snark."

Peter wanted to throw something or hit something - do anything other than sit there and meekly answer Tony's question. He sighed heavily, knowing that Tony wasn't going to put up with much more from him. "Not too dangerous and not interfere with school," the effort to keep his voice bland was palpable.

"Exactly," the older man responded as he reached for the soft drink beside his plate. He took a long drink of it, suddenly wishing it was a beer. "I suppose I should just ask the bad guys to wait until Friday afternoon or Saturday to do their evil deeds so Spiderman can join us?" he asked sarcastically. Popping the last bite of his burger in his mouth, Tony removed the napkin from his lap and tossed it on the table beside his plate. "Your argument to me was that you were old enough and mature enough to go on missions. However, your impatience and your attitude just now show me that you aren't. I suggest you rethink your approach to this and ask me again later."

He sat back in his chair and held up a hand to forestall the protest he knew was about to erupt from Peter. "Now, there haven't been a lot of missions that Shield or the Avengers have needed me for during the last two months. Of the few there have been, there was only one that was safe enough for you. But, it would have required you to miss school. That's not acceptable. Your safety and your education come first, that's not negotiable." Tony ignored Peter's muttered words, figuring he and the kid's backside were both better off if he didn't know what was being said. He'd once heard someone say something about picking your battles.

Silence fell as Peter finished his meal. Inwardly, though, he was seething. Tony was just putting him off because he didn't think he was mature enough (whatever the hell that meant), or old enough, or good enough for a real mission. He would just have to find a way to prove the almighty Ironman wrong.

"What are you thinking, Kiddo?" Tony asked as he stood and began clearing the table. He knew the kid well enough to know the wheels were turning in his head. Whenever Peter was unusually quiet it was never a good sign. "Hey, how about we watch some TV after we finish the dishes. I hear the new season of Daredevil is available on Netflix. I haven't seen it yet, have you?"

Peter shrugged as he carried his empty plate and glass into the kitchen. If Tony wasn't going to keep his word and let him go on a mission, he'd just take matters into his own hands and expand the job description of a friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

Two weeks later Peter was sitting in history class, watching the clock and only half listening to his teacher drone on about the Roman Empire. Eight minutes to go until the end of the period, he thought and sighed. It was going to be the longest eight minutes of his life. He sighed a few minutes later as the cell phone in his pocket vibrated.

During one of his summer visits to the Tower, he and Tony had patched Karen into his cell phone. That morning Peter has asked her to start monitoring military and law enforcement networks and communications for incidents that could benefit from assistance from Spiderman. He'd even set a special vibrating pattern that would alert him when the A.I. found something. It was that pattern which caught his attention.

He snuck the phone out of his pocket and, holding it underneath his desk, took a look at it. There was a hostage situation at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. Nothing much was known, but it was believed to be a terrorist situation.

Peter glanced back up at the clock. Two minutes until the end of class. He would gather his stuff and make his way to the roof of the school, where he could change into his suit. He could be at MOMA in ten minutes, fifteen minutes tops. He'd deal with the fall out from leaving school early and skipping his remaining classes later. It was time Spiderman stepped up his superhero game.

He made it there in ten minutes. Peter found a vantage point out of sight on a nearby building, where he could hear what the emergency responders were saying. It seemed that the terrorists were an offshoot of the Phineas Priesthood - whoever that was. According to what he was hearing, the group had taken hostages in one of the smaller, central exhibit rooms and were demanding the release of their recently arrested leader.

From listening to the discussions taking place between the first responders, he knew everyone other than the terrorists and the hostages had been evacuated from the building. "Karen, pull up the schematics of the museum," Peter instructed. He had to suppress a whoop of delight when it appeared on the heads up display in his suit. He studied the schematics as a thought formed in his mind. "Karen, can you show me whether there are any vents that give would give me access to that room?" He smiled as the vents showed up on the schematic.

He could enter the museum's vents and make his way to the exhibit room where the hostages were being held. Once there, he would use his webbing through the vent cover to incapacitate the bad guys. Then, he'd free the dozen or so hostages and lead them out of the building. He swung off the side of the building, ready to put his plan into action.

Tony stood in the middle of his lab, watching the coverage of the MOMA hostage situation on multiple screens - some showing media coverage, others showing surveillance footage from military and SHIELD feeds. He was already in his suit, only his helmet was missing, as he had been ordered by SHIELD to stand down - this was a law enforcement matter, not a situation that merited SHIELD involvement. Regardless, he just hoped it was resolved quickly without loss of innocent lives.

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He moved to pick it up from a nearby bench and was surprised to see the number showing on the screen's caller ID. Tony hadn't seen that number in a very long time. Answering it, he simply said, "Legolas."

Clint Barton had no time for pleasantries. "I need your help, Tony."

Tony hid his surprise. He and Hawkeye weren't exactly enemies, but he hadn't expected to ever hear from the retired Avenger again. "Whatever you need. You know that." It was said without hesitation.

"You know about the hostage situation?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, I've been told to stand down. Apparently, this isn't a matter for SHIELD." His voice was heavy with a mixture of sarcasm and anger and communicated clearly what he thought of that directive.

"Laura and the kids are among the hostages." Tony cringed. He could hear the fear in the other man's voice. "I stepped out to go to the restroom right before the terrorists struck. I've been evacuated with the others." There was a pause before Clint continued. "I had to go in unarmed due to the security at the museum. I'm retired, Tony. I'm out of that game and didn't expect to have to carry a weapon with me to a fucking museum, of all places."

Tony had already transferred the call to his helmet. His orders be damned. There were people in danger, including the family of a man he still called friend. He stepped out onto the balcony and immediately activated the suit's flight boosters. "I'm already on my way. Where are you?"

"They forced me behind the police barricade. I'm trying to find a way past it, so I can get back in."

"And do what?" Tony questioned. "You're unarmed against at least four men with automatic rifles in a roomful of hostages." He didn't bother to say that under other circumstances it still wouldn't have been a fair match. The terrorists wouldn't have stood a chance against an armed Hawkeye.

"I don't know, Tinman, but I can't just stand by and do nothing." Clint's words interrupted Tony's train of thought.

"You aren't - you called me. Hold on a minute," Tony switched to another line to get word to the first responders on scene that he was on his way. The situation was tense, and he didn't want to trigger a reaction by his surprise appearance. "Clint, make your way to the barrier at the north side of the building. I'd get you through. There's a hidden entrance on that side of the building we can use to get inside." He disconnected the call after again reassuring the other man they'd find a way to get the hostages out alive. Tony prayed he wasn't giving Clint false hope.

Tony's phone rang again almost immediately. He glanced at the caller ID and answered, "I can't talk now, May. I'll call you back later."

"Don't hang up," May Parker said quickly. "I assume you're involved in the hostage crisis. Just tell me, is Peter with you?"

"No, Peter's not with me. Why do you ask?" He had a bad feeling about what Peter's aunt was going to say.

"His school called. He didn't show up for his fifth period class. He was there earlier in the day. The timing of his disappearance matches with the media announcement about the hostage situation. Going with you is the only reason I can think of to explain it."

"I didn't take him out of school, May. I wouldn't do that - not for something like this. If he's at the museum, he went on his own. I'll find him, and I'll keep him safe." He disconnected the call and instructed Friday to verify Peter's location with Karen. He agreed with May, it would be just like Peter to ditch school in a misguided belief that his help would be needed. However, the kid would be acting solo, without backup, and against every rule that had been established for his safety. "Sir," Friday interrupted his train of thought, "Karen reports that Spiderman is at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. He appears to be making his way to the center of the building through the duct work."

I'm going to kill him, Tony thought. He increased his speed. Not only did he have to make sure Barton's family and the other hostages made it out alive, he had to keep Peter from inadvertently getting himself killed through his stupidity.

Reaching MOMA, Tony hovered above the building to scan for heat signatures in an effort to locate the hostages. He spotted roughly 20 life signs in a small area at the center of the large building. Pulling up a schematic of the building, he identified the location and began to formulate a plan to take out the terrorists, rescue the hostages, and get his hands on a certain teenage spider.

He landed on the north side of the building and immediately spotted Clint Barton arguing with the police officer standing guard at the barricade blocking access to the building. The largest portion of the crowd was at the front of the building, not here at the back. But there were a few other people hanging around.

The exterior of the building looked like it was a solid construction. But Tony happened to know there was a door at the corner of the building that could only be opened from the inside. It was designed to be used as an emergency escape or, on occasion, as a stealthy VIP entrance. Tony had no doubt that Friday would be able to clone the code to open the door and give him and Clint access in a matter of seconds.

"He's with me, Officer McAllister," Tony said, using his suit's enhanced vision capabilities to read the woman's name tag as he approached. "Please let him through."

Officer McAllister looked shocked to see Iron Man suddenly standing a few feet away. "Um, yes, sir," she stammered slightly as she stepped back to allow Clint to duck under the barrier.

Tony wondered just how green the officer was as he watched Clint slip the officer's gun from it's holster as he brushed past her. The woman didn't seem to notice anything amiss, and he wasn't going to bring it to her attention. It was much easier than trying to convince her to willingly turn her sidearm over to the ex-spy.

As Iron Man and Clint moved away from the barricade toward the corner of the building and the hidden entrance, Tony spoke quietly so as to not be overheard by prying ears. "I just learned that Spiderman is also here."

"That kid from Germany?" Clint said in surprise. "What's he doing here."

"Good question, he's supposed to be sitting in Spanish class right now." At Clint's confused expression, Tony continued, "I've been acting as his mentor. He's been strictly limited to small, neighborhood stuff. But, lately he's been wanting to do more. I guess his ego got the better of his brain this time." Tony shook his head, almost in pity. "I wonder what the kid's ego is going to have to say when I hand his ass to him later."

Clint could almost sympathize with Tony's comments, but he was too worried about his own kids at the moment. "How does that help us? He's a kid, what can he do besides get us all killed?"

"He can be our eyes on the inside." Tony had Friday patch a call through to Peter's suit. "Where are you?" he demanded the second the teenager answered. "Don't bother trying to deny you're at the museum. Karen has already confirmed your presence. We will be having a long discussion about that later, by the way."

"M… Mr. Stark," Peter stammered, a little shaken for a moment at being discovered so easily and quickly. Pulling himself together, he answered, "I'm making my way through the ducts in the ceiling. I'm almost to the room where the hostages are being held."

Tony made quick work of breaking the electronic lock on the door and triggering the opening mechanism. "Let me know when you get there. Hawkeye and I are making our way to your location now. What are the terrorists doing? Are the hostages okay?"

"I'm there now," Peter reported a few seconds later. He looked down into the room through the ceiling vent. "The hostages all seem to be okay. They're all huddled together in the back left corner of the room. One of the bad guys is guarding them, the others are in the front of the room. It looks like they're talking about something, but they're whispering. I can't quite make out what they're saying."

Tony nodded at Clint and gave him a thumbs up, signaling that Peter was in place and everything was okay. The two men made their way silently through the empty corridors to the room where the hostages were being held. "Spiderman, any indication they know we're here?"

"No, nothing's changed."

"Good," Tony responded as an idea formed in his head. "Can you shoot your webbing through the vent?"

Peter studied the size of the openings in the grating underneath him and quickly calculated the angles of trajectory. "Yeah, I think so. I can probably take out the guy guarding the hostages."

"Okay, stand by. Don't do anything until I tell you," Tony ordered. "I mean it, Peter."

Peter winced at the tone of Tony's voice, but quickly replied, "yes, sir."

Tony relayed the information to Clint and they formulated a plan. As he relayed the information to Peter, Tony reached into a storage compartment and pulled out a fabric mask. He tossed it to Clint. "It's experimental - nano fabric that will hide your features but allow you full range of vision and movement." Clint nodded in thanks as he pulled the mask on over his head. Where his face normally would be was a solid grey surface, showing only hints of eyes, nose and mouth beneath the fabric. 

"It's good," Clint responded. He could see as though there was nothing over his eyes. "Let's go."

"One more thing before we go in," Tony said. "I'll lead your family out the same way we came in. You take everyone else out the front. Get everyone out, then join us. I've called Happy, he's going to pick you up and take you to the Tower. That way you can avoid any questions and the media frenzy." Clint nodded his agreement and appreciation.

The two men took up position and Tony counted down. At one, he said, "now, Peter," as he broke through the door at the same time Spiderman's webbing hit the guard in the face, obscuring his vision. A second round of webbing pulled the automatic rifle from the man's hands and plastered it high on a nearby wall. Seconds passed as Clint entered the room and took out the other three men with well aimed bullets to the head. The whole thing was over within thirty seconds.

It took several more moments for the hostages to realized what was happening and that they had been rescued. In the ensuing chaos Tony sensed Peter moving to remove the vent cover and drop down into the room. "Get your butt to the Tower. Change out of your suit and wait for me in my office."

"But . . ." Peter started to interrupt.

"The only butt you need to be worried about right now is yours. I don't have time for arguments. Go."

Tony turned back to the room and raised the face shield on his helmet, figuring the human touch would work better at the moment. "Everyone, we're going to get you out of here. But you need to calm down first." He waited until he had everyone's attention before he continued, "now, follow my friend here. He'll get you out of the building." Catching Laura's eyes, he saw the question in them. He nodded subtly in answer, confirming her suspicions. As Clint was ushering the former hostages out the door, Laura and the kids hung back.

When they were the only people remaining in the room, Tony motioned for them to follow him. "Clint will led everyone to the front door and make sure they get out. We're going out the back way. He'll meet us there."

Why does the trip out seem to take less time than the trip in? Tony pondered as the reached the entrance at the back of the building. He spotted Happy standing off to the side, looking for all the world like a casual observer rather than a driver waiting to secretly spirit three of the hostages and one of the rescuers away to the former base of operations for a group of superheroes.

A noise behind him caught his attention. He turned to see Clint coming down the hallway, pulling the mask over his head. Tony caught the bit of fabric as it was tossed to him. He watched as Clint's family swarmed him and were enveloped the man's embrace.

A job well done, Tony thought. This was one of the reasons he became Iron Man - to protect innocent people. As the Barton family made their way into the waiting car, Tony sighed. Now, to deal with Peter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Lately I've been binge watching Marvel: Agents of SHIELD. I'm currently up to the middle of season 4. It may not be canon (does canon even matter in fanfiction?), but I felt like Phil Coulson needed to make an appearance - if only briefly.

This chapter contains corporal punishment of a minor. If that's not your thing, you've been warned, so hit the back button now.

 **Update:** This chapter has been revised to correct errors. No other major changes have been made to it.

CHAPTER 6

Tony was halfway back to the Tower when Friday notified him he had an incoming call. "Who is it?" he asked tiredly. He was pretty sure he already knew who was calling.

"Phillip Coulson," the AI responded.

"Put it through," he said on a sigh. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with this at the moment. He'd never have to deal with it if he'd had his way. Tony waited a moment before he heard the staticy buzz that told him the call had been rerouted. "Coulson," he said by way of greeting.

"Stark," Coulson replied. "I thought I told you the hostage situation wasn't a SHIELD matter."

Short and to the point, as usual, Tony thought. "Clint Barton's wife and kids were among the hostages. He called me for help." That was all the explanation he was going to give. He hadn't asked for permission, nor was he going to ask for forgiveness. He went in as Iron Man to help a friend, that was all that mattered.

Tony could almost sense Coulson's nod of understanding. The other man knew the importance of helping your team. Plus he liked Barton for some strange reason, Tony thought with a grin.

"Am I to assume the man in the grey mask was Barton." When Tony didn't respond, the Director of SHIELD continued. "Since there were 20 hostages reported and only 17 came out, I'm going to conclude that they're unharmed and you've spirited them away somewhere."

"Seemed like the thing to do at the time," Tony responded. "There were enough people to debrief. They wouldn't add anything to what the others could say." He knew that Coulson would automatically understand that he acted to protect the Barton family's privacy and anonymity. The man had served his country both as an agent of SHIELD and as an Avenger. He deserved that much.

"One more thing," Coulson stated quickly, knowing Tony was about to disconnect the call. "My sources tell me Spiderman was spotted leaving the scene. Was he part of the rescue operation?" He paused, waiting to see if there was any reaction from Tony. When, as he'd expected, there was none, he continued. "His presence there was in violation of our agreement. As long as he is underage and sticks to stopping carjackings and muggings in Queens, I keep him off SHIELD's radar, and he doesn't have to sign the Slovakian Accords."

Tony sighed heavily and would have run his hands over his face in frustration if he hadn't been in his suit. He'd expected this. It was one reason he'd delayed letting Peter get involved in Avenger missions. After the fight in Germany and the ferry incident, Spiderman had come to SHIELD's attention. With the shit storm happening over the so-called inhumans, Tony wanted the kid kept as far away from the agency as possible, so he'd made a deal with Coulson. The only information they currently had on Spiderman was his alias and the fact that he generally operated in Queens, and Tony wanted to keep it that way. "He was there without my permission and against every rule we have in place for his safety. Believe me," Tony said, the weariness obvious in his voice, "he and I are going to have a serious discussion about that very soon, and he is going to sorely regret his decision."

Tony's emphasis on the word sorely left no doubt in the other man's mind what he'd meant. Coulson chuckled. He almost felt sorry for the kid. "I have to admit, Stark, that's a method I've wished I could employ with a few of my agents a time or two. Just keep the kid in line, would you? And give Barton my best," he said as he ended the call. He needed to get to work smoothing ruffled feathers over the fact that an Avenger had been involved in an unsanctioned op on US soil.

Tony touched down on the landing pad outside of his laboratory. He deactivated his suit and stepped through the doors. "Friday, coffee," he commanded. He really wanted something stronger, but since he'd taken on the task of mentoring Peter Parker, he'd decided he wanted to make a concerted effort to be a better person. Unfortunately, that included cutting back drastically on his drinking. It had been months since he'd had a drink, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Friday, where is Peter?" Tony questioned.

"Mr. Parker is in your office," the AI responded.

Tony smiled slightly. He'd half expected the kid to be hiding in his room or even to have left the building altogether. At least the kid had had enough sense to do as he'd been told for once.

He moved across the room to the automatic coffee maker and the waiting steaming mug. After silently blessing the fact he had programmed the AI into the machine, he took a hesitant sip of the scalding hot liquid. Deciding the coffee needed to cool before he could drink it, he turned to the man sitting in his desk chair. "Your family settling in okay?"

"Yeah, the kids were already firing up the Playstation when I came up here," Clinton Barton responded.

Tony nodded. He was a little surprised it still worked. He didn't think it had even been turned on since before the fight in Germany. Tony took another sip of his coffee and placed the mug on the desk before moving to sit beside it. He needed to head up to his office, but there were other matters that needed to be discussed first.

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want. You know that, right?"

Clint nodded. "We'll spend the night, but we're flying home tomorrow. It was already booked, and the baby is with Laura's parents. I'm sure they're ready to hand him back over to us by now."

"You might want to think about delaying your trip if you can, and give this thing time to blow over," Tony stated. "The Internet is already speculating that you were the man in the grey mask. Apparently stories from the hostages about what happened during the rescue are already making their way online. Some people are pointing to your accuracy in shooting the terrorists and my presence there and arguing that you are the only person who could have been behind the mask." He picked up the mug and took a sip of the still too hot beverage. "Phil Coulson sends his regards, by the way."

Clint winced a little. He hadn't worked directly with Coulson during his time at SHIELD, but the other man had a reputation as being someone you didn't want to cross. He also had a reputation for being zealously protective of his agents. "I hope he didn't give you too hard a time."

Tony shrugged. "I'm a big boy. I can handle it. Besides, once he learned why I'd gone in, he dropped the subject." Tony glanced at his watch. He really needed to go deal with Peter. It was a school night, and he still had to get the teenager home to face his aunt's wrath and get to bed at a halfway decent time. "Speaking of handling things, I have to go deal with Peter." His coffee had cooled enough that he could take a large gulp of it. He could feel the caffeine already coursing through his veins.

"The kid from Germany?" Clint asked. "What was he doing there, anyway?"

"Playing hero and doing his best to get himself hurt or killed," Tony replied, his anger and frustration apparent in his voice.

Clint just gave him a hard look, clearly indicating he wanted the other man to elaborate.

"I knew of him before Germany, and decided to bring him along for the fight. Afterwards, I offered him a position with the Avengers, but he turned me down saying he just wanted to be a friendly neighborhood Spiderman. I gave him a new, upgraded suit and sent him on his way. I thought I'd just keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't get himself killed. Well, he ended up getting involved in a couple of major incidents, including one where I had to step in and keep him from getting himself and others killed. After that, I took him on as a protegé." Tony laughed and shook his head, almost in wonder. "Over the last year or so, our relationship as evolved. I guess you could say I've gone past mentor to father figure." He stood and walked across the room to get another cup of coffee. Returning to the desk, he continued. "A couple of months ago he told me he wanted to do more than just be a neighborhood crime fighter. He wanted to join in on Avengers missions."

"And when you didn't take him on one, he decided to take matters in his own hands." Clint sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Sounds about right for a teenager - big on talk and action, but short on brains."

"Your kids do anything that dumb?" Tony asked, suddenly glad he had someone who was actually an experienced parent to talk to about this.

"They've had their moments. But, since none of them have been blessed with superpowers, their moments haven't been this serious. How are you going to handle it?"

Tony scrubbed his hands over his face. Sighing, he turned to look at Clint. "This isn't the first time he's shown up at the scene of a fight without permission. When we were discussing him joining in on an Avengers mission, I told him if he did anything that placed himself in unnecessary danger I'd take my belt to his backside."

Clint stood and moved to stand in front of Tony. He placed a hand on the other man's shoulder for emotional support. "Being a parent is hard - whether you are one by birth or by circumstance. You have to follow through with your promise, as much as you may not want to. And for what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing. My kids would have expected nothing else in a similar situation."

Tony glanced at his watch. It was a school night, and Tony intended to take Peter back to his Aunt May after they were finished with his discussion. If he wanted to get the boyhome before she left for her second job, they would need to leave soon. But, first, they needed to have a serious discussion.

Nodding in agreement with Clint, Tony came to his feet. "You and your family make yourselves at home on the Avengers levels. Spiderman and I are going to be busy for a while."

Tony stepped into his office and was surprised to see Peter sitting in the visitor's chair in front of his desk. He'd half expected the kid to be hiding on the ceiling or something. "Come on," he said gesturing for the teenager to follow him as he passed the desk on the way to the couch at the far end of his office. "Friday, activate privacy mode."

"Privacy mode activated," the AI responded.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter questioned, a little uncertain at what was happening. The last two times he'd been here, Tony had lectured him at the desk, then moved to the couch for the punishment. Was he going to skip the lecture? Not that Peter had looked forward to being yelled at by his mentor, but it at least delayed the inevitable for a little while.

"No lecture tonight, Pete. But we are going to have a serious discussion about what you did and why." Tony sat on the couch and patted the cushion beside him. It was clearly an invitation for the teenager to take a seat. "Then, I'm going to keep my word and take my belt to your ass."

Peter swallowed hard. He didn't know which was worse, the idea of having to talk about what he'd done or the prospect of the upcoming whipping. He sat on the edge of the cushion, too tense to relax back into the seat.

Sighing, Tony pulled him back so that he was leaning against his shoulder. "You want to tell me what was going on in your head today?"

"Not really," Peter said softly.

"I'm trying to understand here, Pete. Help me out some." Tony ran his hand up and down Peter's arm, trying to comfort the boy some. He wanted to ask if Peter thought his actions really demonstrated his claims of being mature enough to join the Avengers, but chose not to voice that particular question since it wouldn't really help matters.

"You weren't going to let me join an Avenger's mission. I had to show you I was capable of doing it," Peter mumbled so quietly Tony almost didn't hear him.

"I hate to tell you, kid, but all you did was show me you aren't ready. You did a great job with taking out that terrorist. I don't know if Clint and I could have handled that situation as easily without you there. But that doesn't make up for the fact that you were someplace you shouldn't have been." Tony shifted in his seat so that he was facing Peter. "You went in without letting anyone know you were there and without backup. What would you have done if the first responders mistook you for one of the terrorists?"

Peter just shrugged. He hadn't thought about that, but now that Tony had pointed it out, he could see the other man's point.

"Nobody knew you were there. What if something had gone wrong? Who would have known you needed help?"

Again, Peter shrugged. He didn't have a response. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about that."

"I know you didn't. That's one reason I don't want you doing anything more dangerous than being a friendly neighborhood Spiderman. You're good, Peter. You have talent and abilities that allow you to help people. More importantly, you have a good heart and desire to make things better for others. That's admirable, and I'm very proud of you for it. But, you have to learn to think before you act." Tony paused to give Peter a chance to absorb his words. He watched as Peter looked away, unwilling to meet his steady gaze.

Sighing again, Tony stood and unbuckled his belt. He cringed inwardly when Peter winced at the sound of the supple leather being pulled through belt loops. "Is there anything else you have to say?"

"No, sir," Peter responded quietly.

Tony nodded. "Okay, here's how this is going to play out. You're going to stand up and bend over, bracing your hands on the couch. You'll take your punishment, then you will be completely forgiven."

Peter nodded. He stood slowly, not quite believing what was going to happen. He'd known from the moment he decided to go to the museum that getting his butt whipped was a distinct possibility if he'd gotten caught. He turned and bent over, placing his hands on the cushions. Swallowing hard, he let his head drop and braced himself for what was about to come.

Tony braced himself. He didn't want to do this, but he really didn't have a choice. He had promised Peter serious consequences if he did anything stupid. Clint was right, he had to carry through with that promise. He moved to stand behind Peter and reached over and pulled the teenager's sweat pants and underwear to his knees in one motion.

"Mr. Stark, please . . . ."

"You've earned this, Pete. I don't want to have to do this again, so I want to make sure that you get the message this time."

The first lick of the belt landed across the middle of Peter's backside. He flinched, but didn't make a sound. Two more licks fell in quick succession across the tops of his thighs, and he gasped at the fire they left behind. Tony laid the next few licks across Peter's tender sit spots, and Peter began openly sobbing. Tony wasn't holding anything back with each lick, and the sting from the belt was much worse than Peter had anticipated. By the time the last lick fell, Peter was sure he'd never sit again.

Tony carefully slipped the teenager's clothes back into place and turned aside to pull his belt back through his belt loops and buckle it back into place in order to give Peter a moment to gather himself.

Turning back, Tony pulled Peter into his arms and let him cry against his chest. He'd need to get a dry shirt before he took the kid home, he thought to himself as he gently rubbed Peter's back. "You okay?" Tony asked when he felt Peter start to pull back.

Peter nodded and wiped the tears from his face with tail of his t-shirt. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark."

Tony reached over and ruffled the kid's hair. "I know you are. Just learn to think before you act, so we don't have to do this again, okay."

"That's a deal," Peter said as he gave a watery smile.

Tony checked his watch. "Now, it's time to get you home."

"Home?" Peter repeated, a little distressed.

"Home," Tony responded firmly. "What just happened here was for your actions as Spiderman. You are going to accept whatever consequences your aunt and the school decide to deliver for cutting class, and you're going to do it without argument. Is that understood?" Tony's face was stern, leaving no doubt as to the seriousness of his words.

"Understood," Peter said quietly. "But, can't I spend the night here? Happy can take me to school in the morning."

"Sorry, kid," Tony said as he hooked an arm around Peter's shoulders and guided him toward the door. "You're going to have to face the music with Aunt May tonight. I should get you home with plenty of time before she has to leave for work."

This time, Tony didn't try to suppress his grin at the kid's groan.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Dr. Bruce Banner hesitated for a moment before stepping into the elevator. This was the first time he'd entered the Avengers Tower through the public entrance, and somehow it just felt wrong. In the past, he'd entered the Tower through a private entrance used only by the Avengers and the members of SHIELD who provided support services for them. But, he wasn't there as an Avenger and didn't have the special access required to get in that way. Not to mention that he hadn't exactly told anyone he was coming, and, after what he'd learned, he wasn't sure anyone would actually be there.

Bruce really wasn't that surprised when he realized the public elevator did not have buttons for the floors used by the Avengers or for Tony Stark's private residence. After all, those floors weren't exactly publicly accessible. He was about to exit the elevator to call Tony when a voice from overhead startled him. "Good evening, Dr. Banner, how may I assist you?"

"Um, who are you," Bruce asked uncertainly. He knew Tony used AI in his home, but he hadn't expected it in a public elevator.

"I am Friday, Mr. Stark's artificial intelligence. I monitor certain areas of this building, including the elevators, and assist Mr. Stark as needed." There was a slight pause before Friday continued. "I have informed Mr. Stark of your presence. He has instructed me to guide you to the penthouse." The elevator began moving upward toward the highest of the building's public floors. From there, Bruce would need to switch to the private elevator that would take him past the Avengers' floors to Tony's private quarters.

Tony was in his office handling some long overdue paperwork for Stark Industries. He hated the paper shuffling that came with owning the large corporation. The papers stacked on his desk contained reports and details on a project that was currently a focus of Stark Industry's R&D Department. It was the one area of the business Tony still kept a hand in, despite having named Pepper Potts as the company's CEO.

He was almost thankful when he was interrupted by Friday. "Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner has entered public elevator number 3. He seems uncertain of where he wants to go."

"Bruce?" Tony questioned. His friend was the last person he would have expected to make an appearance. He hadn't seen the other man since the Battle of Sovokia. Nobody had been able to determine where the Hulk had gone after he'd taken off in the quinjet. Some believed that Bruce Banner had regained control over the gigantic green creature and had gone into hiding in some remote part of the world. Others, including Tony, had believed the Hulk had managed to go off world somewhere, likely never to be seen or heard from again.

"Bring him up to the penthouse, Friday. I'll meet him there," Tony instructed as he quickly rose from his desk, paperwork forgotten. He rushed to the foyer of his living quarters and arrived just as the elevator subtly dinged, announcing its arrival.

Bruce had barely stepped off the elevator when he found himself enveloped in a hug. He was momentarily taken aback by Tony's show of affection, but soon returned the embrace. He wasn't embarrassed to say he'd missed his friend.

"What are you doing here? Where the hell have you been?" Tony demanded as he broke the embrace and stepped back to study the other man. Bruce looked tired and more haggard than the last time they'd seen each other.

Bruce grinned at his friend's greeting. The hug had surprised him, as Tony had never been one to display emotion in the past, but the questions were classic Tony Stark. "Could I at least get a cup of coffee before you interrogate me?"

A few minutes later, the two men were sitting at the kitchen table with steaming mugs of coffee in front of them. "So what gives? Where did you take off to after the Battle of Sovokia?" Tony demanded impatiently.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Bruce replied before taking a sip from his mug.

"Try me."

"The big guy ended up being a champion arena fighter on Sakaar. He wasn't very interested in letting me take control again. Thor managed to get himself captured, and brought to Sakaar. He and the big guy fought in the arena. Afterwards, he escaped, and the Hulk followed him. Thor found the quinjet and played a recording of Nat that convinced the big guy to let me take control again. He'd been in charge for awhile, and he didn't give up easily. Anyway," Bruce shrugged. He continued as nonchalantly as if he were discussing a mundane trip to the grocery store. "We ended up fighting a battle against Loki and their sister Hela. When it was over, Thor asked me if I wanted to return home. Next thing I knew, I woke up by myself in a remote forest in the middle of Siberia."

Tony laughed as Bruce paused to take another drink of his coffee. "Talk about an international incident."

"Yeah, that's an understatement. SHIELD got me out and smoothed things over, but they demanded something in return." The tone of Bruce's voice clearly stated that he wasn't happy with the price he was having to pay for SHIELD's assistance.

"Do I want to know what it is?" Tony asked sarcastically.

Bruce shrugged.

"Apparently SHIELD is attempting to restart it's academy and are trying to recruit the best and the brightest. They're sending me and some other science types to speak at high schools across the country. I'm speaking at a school here in New York the day after tomorrow."

Tony laughed.

"You know how much I hate public speaking, but they really didn't give me any choice. It was either agree to do it or take my chances with the Russian government."

Tony didn't know whether to laugh or curse at SHIELD 's strong arm tactics. As happy as he was to have his friend back on Earth and in one piece, he was angry at the powers that be for forcing Bruce into being little more than a sideshow monkey in their recruitment efforts. "Where are you speaking?"

"Midtown High School," Bruce replied. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the grin spreading across Tony's face. "I'm going to spend the day guest teaching a chemistry class."

"What?" he demanded when Tony hooted in delighted laughter before taking a drink of his coffee.

Bruce stared in open mouthed surprise as Tony finished telling him about Peter. "You're a mentor? An honest to God, good influence mentor? To a teenager? Who are you and what have you done with the real Tony Stark?"

"I know, right? I can't believe it either. I don't know how it happened, but it did. Anyway, I want you to meet him. I'll get him over here after school tomorrow. He's a great kid. You'll really like him." Pulling out his phone, Tony sent a quick text to Peter. _Come to dinner here tomorrow night. There's someone I want you to meet._

Peter sat in his first period class, which also served as home room, trying to calm the nerves that were fluttering in his stomach.

"Don't forget to have your parent or guardian sign your midterm grade reports and return them to me tomorrow," his chemistry teacher, Mrs. Scarborough instructed as she moved among the desks, handing an envelope to each student. Peter accepted his and wiped his hands to dry the nervous sweat that had gathered on his palms before opening it to pull out the single sheet of folded paper.

He already knew his grades in chemistry and history had dropped. He'd ended up with two days of in school suspension for cutting class to rescue the hostages at the Museum of Modern Art. During those two days, he'd sat by himself in a small room writing essays and doing other busy work. Because they were considered unexcused absences, he hadn't been allowed to make up the test and assignment he'd missed in chemistry and the test he'd missed in history.

Peter almost groaned out loud when he unfolded the paper and saw that his nearly perfect chemistry grade had dropped to a C. If that wasn't bad enough, there was a D glaring at him from the column for his history grade. The remainder of his grades were the expected A's and high B's. Both Tony and May were going to kill him.

He was so wrapped up in the idea that he would have to show those grades to Tony after dinner that night that he missed what Mrs. Scarborough was saying.

"Tomorrow we will be having a guest lecturer. I'm not going to tell you who it is, but I think you'll find the surprise very exciting." She stopped as she reached the front of the classroom and turned to address her students. "It goes without saying that I expect all of you to be on your best behavior tomorrow." Before she could say anything more, the bell rang signaling the end of the class period.

Peter gathered his books and fell into the crowd of students streaming from the room. He hadn't noticed when Ned came up beside him. "I wonder who it is?"

"Hm, who what is?" Peter asked distractedly. His thoughts were still on his grades and what penalties he might be facing from his mentor and his aunt.

Ned gave him a curious look. "The guest teacher tomorrow. You okay?"

"Yeah," Peter replied, sounding less than convincing. "I'm just distracted about my grades."

Ned knew Peter had been worried about them. "That bad?" 

"A C in chemistry and a D in history."

Ned winced. "Oh man, that sucks. At least it's just midterms and not final grades," he said, trying to cheer up his friend. When he realized his attempt was unsuccessful he asked, "What are you going to do?"

Peter shrugged as they stopped at the hallway where they would head in different directions to go to their respective next classes. "I don't know, but I'm going to have to do something. Otherwise, I think I might be forced to give up my internship for a while." Not to mention that Tony would probably consider the bad grades a spanking offense. That was something he wanted to avoid, if at all possible.

"Well, maybe you can do some extra credit or something," Ned replied.

Peter shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. I'll talk to Mrs. Scarborough and Mr. Lane and see what they say."

Happy studied Peter through the car's rear view mirror. "You okay, kid? You got something on your mind?" Usually Peter chattered the entire trip from his school to the Tower, but this time he hadn't said a word during the entire trip.

Peter just shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it." He knew he was dwelling on his midterm grades, but he was worried about Tony's reaction when he saw them.

"Suit yourself," Happy replied nonchalantly. He was worried about the kid, but there was no way he'd let on. It would ruin his tough guy image. "You excited to meet the boss's guest?"

"What guest?"

Happy narrowed his eyes at Peter's question. "Guess he wanted his visitor to be a surprise."

"Maybe." Peter shrugged again and fell silent, watching the passing buildings and people.

Happy frowned. There was something definitely bothering Peter. He would need to call Tony and give him a heads up after he dropped the kid off at the building's private entrance.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Parker," Friday said in greeting as Peter stepped into the private elevator several minutes later.

"Hi, Friday. Could you tell me where Tony is?"

"Mr. Stark and his guest are in the lab. Would you like me to take you there?"

"Yes, please." Peter wondered who Tony's guest might be. There were very few people the billionaire allowed into his lab. His curiosity over that question caused him to momentarily forget about the mid-term grade report hidden at the bottom of his backpack.

When Peter entered the lab a few minutes later he had no trouble spotting Tony standing at a table in the area of the lab reserved for working with chemicals. He was with another man who looked vaguely familiar, but Peter wasn't quite able to identify him.

He must have made some noise or his movements caught Tony's attention because he looked up as Peter moved into the open room. "Hey, Pete. You're here early. I wasn't expecting you until around 4:00. It's only," Tony paused to glance at his watch, "quarter after four." He shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "Time flies. Anyway," he moved forward to drop a companionable hand on Peter's shoulder, "there's someone here I want you to meet."

As Tony guided guided him across the room, the identity of the other man dawned on Peter. "You're Bruce Banner." The excitement was evident in his voice. "Oh wow. Oh man. I can't believe I'm meeting you, I mean, you're the Hulk. You're legendary." Peter stepped away from Tony and moved to grasp the hand Bruce help out in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you, Peter. Tony's told me a lot about you." Bruce couldn't help but grin at the teenager's enthusiasm. He hadn't expected quite that much excitement.

"What are you doing here? Tony said you had gone into seclusion somewhere. When did you get back? Are you joining the Avengers again? Is there a mission? Are you going to turn into the Hulk? Does it hurt when you do that?"

Tony draped his arm around Peter's shoulder and pulled the kid against him in a half hug. "Stop and take a breath before you pass out."

"Oh, yeah, right. I'm sorry." Peter blushed, slightly embarrassed by his overenthusiastic welcome.

"That's okay," Bruce said with a grin. "To answer a few of your questions, I was off world for a while, but I recently returned. There's no mission, or at least not one that I know about. I'm in town to speak at some of the schools about science and the new SHIELD academy."

A thought suddenly occurred to Peter. "Ohmygod," he said so quickly that it came out as a single word. "You're the surprise guest lecturer tomorrow. That is so cool. Ned is going to totally freak out. I need to tell him." Peter paused, thinking for a moment before a grin spread across his face. "On second thought, I'll let him be surprised."

Bruce gave a short laugh. "I'm glad there will be at least two excited people there tomorrow. I just hope I live up to the hype and that I'm not too boring."

Tony clapped his hands together, drawing Bruce's and Peter's attention. "Now that introductions are out of the way, why don't you two geeks stay here and do some sciency stuff while I go start dinner."

Peter turned to Bruce and grinned. "I bet it's lasagna again. That's all he knows how to cook."

"Watch it, underroos," Tony said as he crossed to the open elevator. "If you aren't careful, I'll make you eat nothing but rabbit food."

Bruce had studied his friend as he interacted with the lanky teenager, and he liked what he'd seen. Tony seemed more relaxed and happier than Bruce had ever seen him. "So, Peter, Tony's said you've got some special abilities of your own. Tell me about them."

A couple of hours later, they were sitting at the kitchen table. A pan of leftover lasagne sat cooling on the wooden surface. Despite his excitement and enthusiasm earlier when they were in the lab, Peter seemed much more subdued. He'd barely spoken unless asked a direct question, and then gave only short answers. Bruce hadn't missed the concerned looks Tony had sent the teenager when Peter wasn't looking.

"Why don't you two go watch some television or something while I clean up?" Bruce had no trouble reading the subtle message hidden in Tony's words and eyes - see if you can get him to talk.

"But, I usually do the clean up when you cook," Peter protested. He was sure he was being played somehow, but he couldn't put a finger on how or why.

"Next time," Tony said as he stood and began stacking dishes to carry to the sink. "We've got company tonight. Go entertain him for a while so I can clean this up. We may have time afterwards to spend a little while in the lab again before I take you home. I'm sure you have homework to do."

"Yes, sir," Peter replied reluctantly and left the kitchen.

"Don't take it personally," Tony said as Bruce rose from the table to follow Peter.

"I'm not. I may have just met him, but I can tell something's bothering him." Bruce considered his next words for a moment. "You think it has something to do with me?"

"No," Tony replied as he carried the stack of dirty dishes to the sink. He put them in the basin and turned to look at his friend. "I think it's probably something to do with school. Happy texted me after he dropped Peter off and said he was unusually quiet during the drive."

Bruce nodded in understanding. "I'll see what I can find out."

Tony clapped his friend on the shoulder as he passed by to get another load from the table. "Thanks, man."

A few minutes later Bruce and Peter were sitting in companionable silence on the couch watching a rerun of The Big Bang Theory. Bruce glanced over at the teenager slumped in the seat beside him. The kid's face did little to hide his emotions. There was definitely something bothering him.

"Want to tell me what's on your mind?" Bruce asked casually, unsure about how to start this conversation.

"It's nothing," Peter replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Peter, I know we've just met. But, it's obvious there is something bothering you. You were really quiet during dinner, and you look like you're worried about something. Tell me what it is, maybe I can help. Is it something to do with me being here?"

"What?" Peter turned to look at him in surprise. He couldn't believe the man had even suggested that. "No, you being here is great. I know Tony's glad to see you, and I really, really liked working in the lab with you earlier. I'm even excited about you teaching my chemistry class tomorrow, which, by the way, is the coolest thing ever."

"So, what's bugging you, then. If I noticed it, Tony definitely did. I know he's worried about you."

Peter sighed heavily. Maybe Bruce would have a suggestion about dealing with his grades. "I got in trouble a few weeks ago and ended up with a couple days of in school suspension. I missed some tests and assignments in some classes, and midterms came out today."

"And your chemistry and history grades have dropped unacceptably low." Tony's voice from the doorway caused Peter to jump in surprise. "I pulled your grades up online this morning."

Bruce stood and glanced at his watch, as though checking the time. "I need to head down to the lab to check on that experiment. If you two will excuse me?"

Tony understood perfectly that his friend was giving them some privacy to discuss Peter's grades. He nodded his thanks. "Pete and I'll be down in a few minutes to say goodbye before I take him home." He waited until he heard the elevator working to turn back to the young man still slumped on the couch. The worried look on the teenager's face broke his heart.

He sat down beside Peter. Putting an arm around his shoulders, Tony pulled him close to his side. "I can understand why you were so worried about telling me, but you shouldn't have been."

Peter started to speak, but Tony shushed him. "The grownup is talking. You can say your peace when I've finished. I'm not happy about those grades. You're a smart kid and are capable of more than that. But, you're also learning a valuable lesson that sometimes your actions have long term consequences."

Tony shifted so he could look Peter in the face. "I'm not going to punish you now, and neither is May. I've already talked to her about them. You're going to be given an opportunity to bring them up." He almost grinned at the look of relief that passed over the kid's face, but he managed to keep the serious expression in place. "If either of those grades aren't at least a B by the end of the term, you will be grounded from Spiderman the entire next term, and you will lose lab privileges for the same time period. Your life will revolve around school and homework. Understood?"

Peter nodded. He didn't know how to express how relieved he was to hear Tony's words. The worry over what his mentor was going to say or do about his grades had nearly consumed him. And the fact that he'd been so worried about it had embarrassed him. After all, he'd taken on terrorists and aliens and hadn't been as scared as he'd been over a couple of bad grades. "Thanks, Tony. I understand. I've already talked to my teachers. They're going to let me do extra credit work to bring my grades up. They'll get better, I promise."

"They'd better, or you're going to be one unhappy spider." Tony stood and held a hand out to Peter. When the teenager took it, Tony pulled him to his feet. "Come on, let's go see what Bruce is into, then I'll take you home. I'm sure you have homework that needs attention," he said meaningfully.

Peter was barely listening to Ned prattling on about who their guest chemistry teacher was going to be. He obviously knew, but he didn't want to spoil the surprise for his friend. He'd gotten a bit of a surprise of his own when he walked into the classroom and spotted Bruce in the back of the room talking to his teacher. For some reason, he'd thought someone would escort Bruce into the room and do a fancy introduction. There again, he thought, that really didn't seem to be Bruce's style.

Peter knew the second Ned spotted Bruce as well. He stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the doorway. Peter grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him into the room and in the direction of their shared worktable.

"It's Bruce Banner," Ned said in an awed sounding stage whisper that Peter knew could be heard across the room.

"Good morning, Peter," Bruce said with a grin as he watched the young man manhandle his excited friend into his seat. He didn't know whether to be honored or embarrassed at the teenager's reaction. As he watched the other students filing into the classroom, he was a little pleased to see their excitement.

"Good morning, Dr. Banner," Peter responded as he shoved Ned into his seat. "Do you get your experiment finished last night?"

"Yes, I'm ready to move on to the next step. Maybe you can help me with that when you come for your internship tomorrow."

"Sure, that would be awesome. Thanks." He turned back to his desk and noticed his classmates staring at him in awe. Choosing to ignore them, he sat in his own chair and busied himself getting ready for the class to start.

"You know Bruce Banner?" Ned whispered excitedly. "Like, really know him? Like, help him with his experiments know him? When did you meet him?"

"I met him last night through my internship," Peter interrupted, afraid that if he didn't stop his friend Ned would accidentally reveal too much about the true nature of Peter's internship at Stark Industries.

Even in his excitement, Ned understood his friend's unspoken message. "That is so cool."

Peter was prevented from saying anything further as his teacher moved to the lectern at the front of the room. "From everyone's reactions, I don't suppose I really need to introduce our guest this morning. Dr. Banner is here to talk to you about an exciting new opportunity in the sciences, please give him your full attention."

 **Author's Note:** I got the idea to bring Bruce Banner into this story after reading the second chapter of WolfPyre's story True Avengers. It took me a little while to figure out the logistics of how I wanted it to work. It's mostly fluff, but we all need a little fluff every now and then.

I didn't attempt to write Bruce's science lesson. I'll leave that to your imaginations. While I aced high school chemistry, that was over 30 years ago, and I haven't studied it since.

If you like what I've written, please review. I love seeing your comments in my inbox.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** A thank you goes out to Lilliansnow for the writing prompt which gave me the idea for this chapter.

My life is crazy right now. Honestly, the only time I've had to write lately has been when I wake up at 3 a.m. and can't go back to sleep. I had intended to do this part as a single chapter, but I decided to split it into two parts. I'll post the other part as soon as I am able, but don't expect it for a while.

I'm also going back and re-writing the earlier chapters to convert them from first person POV to third person and to correct my grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. I may also add a few things here and there as my muse dictates.

 **CHAPTER 8**

At the moment, Happy Hogan was living up to his nickname. In other words, he was happy - probably happier than he'd been in a long time. He was on his way home from what he considered to be a very successful third date, and he was interested in seeing where this particular relationship was going to go.

Two teenagers stumbling along the nearby sidewalk suddenly caught his attention. He did a double take, because he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Cursing, he ignored the blaring horns behind him and brought his car to a stop, double parking and blocking the line of vehicles behind him. Jumping out of his car, he practically ran to the sidewalk just in time to see the two boys turn to see what all the commotion was about.

"Peter Parker and Ned Leeds," he called, his voice pitched low and hard enough to carry over the 50 feet or so separating them. "Get over here right now." Happy knew the moment Peter realized who had hollered at him. Even from that distance, the older man could see the teenager's eyes widen and the wheels start to turn in his head. He didn't know why the boys were in that part of Queens at 2:00 in the morning. It was nowhere near where either of them lived or hung out. To top it off, he was pretty sure from their body language and lack of coordination that they were under the influence of something illegal.

"You try to run, and I'll just call Tony." Happy threatened, his voice hard. "You know I'll do it, and you also know he won't be very happy to have to go chasing you down." He paused, wondering if the kid was sober enough to recognize the veiled warning behind his words. "Now, get your ass over here. Both of you," he directed. When neither boy moved, he practically shouted, "Now!"

He watched as both teenagers reluctantly made their way to where he waited. Neither of them were capable of walking a straight line, and Ned practically fell over his own feet twice in the short distance they traveled. When they finally reached him, Happy gave Ned a hard look as he grasped Peter by the back of his head and titled it back so he could look into the teenager's eyes in the twilight glow emitted by the nearby streetlights and security lights of the shops and other businesses that lined the sidewalk. He practically growled at the strong odor of marijuana that emanated from the kid's clothes, and the telltale redness of Peter's eyes told him everything he needed to know.

Releasing his hold on the back of Peter's head, Happy stepped back and turned his gaze to Ned. The heavy set teenager squirmed under his hard look, and the older man knew without having to look closer that he'd find the same signs of drug use he'd found on Peter.

Happy shook his head in a mixture of disbelief and disapproval as he grabbed both teenagers by an arm and practically dragged them to his car. "Get in," he ordered once they'd reached the vehicle. He waited until both boys were settled in the back seat before moving around the car to take his position behind the wheel.

He studied the teenagers in the rearview mirror for several seconds before pulling back into the flow of traffic. Somehow he'd never quite pictured the young superhero as one to smoke weed. Sure the kid could get himself into major trouble sometimes, but it tended to stem from his tendency to act first without regard for his safety or thinking things through rather than from a deliberate disregard for his own safety and wellbeing.

"You on anything other than weed?" Happy asked, breaking the tense silence in the vehicle. Peter sat sullenly staring out the side window. He was uncharacteristically silent, as normally the kid would be talking Happy's ear off. A glance at Ned through the rearview mirror told Happy that the other boy was either asleep or feeling ill. He sat with his head tilted back and his eyes closed. The sudden shudder that racked the boy's body made Happy think it was the latter. It also made him even more suspicious that the boys had imbibed in something more than just pot. "Hey," he said sharply, drawing Peter's attention, "I asked you a question, and I want an answer, Peter."

Peter snuck a quick look at Ned and realized just how bad off his friend was. Due to his enhanced metabolism, the alcohol they'd had along with the marijuana they'd smoked hadn't affected him as much as it had Ned. A pang of guilt suddenly washed over him. He hunched his shoulders in shame. "We may have also had a few beers," he responded, refusing to meet Happy's eyes.

Peter wasn't sure, but he thought he heard Happy cursing under his breath. "I thought you were smart enough to know better than that, kid," the older man said, his voice hard. "You okay back there, Ned?"

Ned's only response was to moan in distress.

"You'd better not throw up in my car, or you're going to clean it up."

"Yes, sir," Ned barely managed to say before swallowing hard in an attempt to hold back the nausea that was threatening to overwhelm him. He swore he would never drink or smoke anything again for the rest of his life.

The moment Happy brought the car to a stop outside the apartment building where Peter lived with his Aunt May Ned rushed out of the vehicle to some nearby bushes. There he bent over and proceeded to lose the contents of his stomach. Spasms were still racking his body when Peter came over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Tell me again, Peter, why did we think that party sounded like such a good idea?" Ned asked as he gave a final shudder and straightened up. He still felt queasy, but his head was starting to clear somewhat. It was only then that the two teenagers realized that Happy was talking to someone on his cell phone.

"Yeah, I've got them." Happy paused to listen to what was said on the other end of the conversation. The man gave the two teenagers a hard assessing look. "I spotted them walking down 73rd." There was another pause in the conversation before he continued again. "We're out front. I'll bring them up as soon as Ned finishes emptying the contents of his stomach into the bushes." Happy gave a snort that could have passed for exasperation, laughter, or derision. "I'll tell you when we get up there, but I think they'll be okay."

Happy ended his conversation and turned off his phone. "You going to live?" He asked turning to Ned.

"I think so," Ned responded in a shaky voice just before another bout of nausea hit and he turned back to the bushes. "I'm never going to drink again," he lamented when the spasms finally stopped wracking his body several minutes later.

"Good," Happy, his voice bland. "Remember that the next time you're tempted." He paused, giving both teenagers a hard look. "Come on, it's time to face the music."

At least it was his Aunt May and not Tony Stark he was going to face, Peter thought. He had no doubt about what his mentor would have to say about his night's activities, whereas his aunt would probably just give him a lecture and tell him not to do it again.

He glanced over at Ned when his friend groaned and said, "my parents are going to kill me. "

"Should've thought about that earlier. Then, maybe you wouldn't be in this situation." Happy punched the button for the elevator, then stepped back to allow the teenagers to enter ahead of him.

When they arrived at Peter's and May's apartment, Happy maneuvered the boys to stand in front of him. Reaching between them, he knocked on the door. It was answered almost immediately by May Parker. The look on her face was a mixture of frantic worry, relief, and anger.

"I was looking forward to seeing you again. I just didn't think it would be this soon," Happy said as he gave both boys a slight shove in the back to get them moving into the apartment. He noticed that she hadn't changed out of the clothes she'd worn on their date.

Peter looked between his aunt and Happy as he stepped through the door. There was a thought in the back of his mind that told him something was going on, but his mind was still too foggy from the effects of the marijuana and beer that he couldn't get the thought to surface or make sense.

"Where have you two been?" May demanded a second after she shut the door. "Nevermind," she directed without missing a beat. "Ned's dad is on this way. You can tell us at the same time when he gets here."

"I'll just go now," Happy said, suddenly feeling a little awkward at the family drama unfolding in front of his eyes.

"No, stay," May said as she reached for his hand and pulled him into the apartment. "I want to hear how you found them, and I'm sure Jim will want to hear that as well."

"Jim?"

"Ned's father." May smiled to herself at the slight note of concern in his voice. They'd only been on their third date, but she was very interested in seeing where this thing with Happy Hogan was going to go. Turning back to the teenagers, who were now sitting on the couch, she continued. "He called here looking for you, Ned." Ned was aware enough to understand the implications of what she had just said and flinched. "Apparently, when you and Peter were hatching your little scheme you forgot to tell him you were spending the night here," she said dryly. "By the way," she continued, "Peter told me he was spending the night with you. I can only assume you two planned to do something neither I nor Ned's parents would approve of." When both boys hung their heads in shame, May only sighed. "That's what I thought."

Everyone in the room lapsed into an uncomfortable silence until a knock sounded on the apartment door several minutes later. Happy was closest to the portal, so he stepped over and answered it. An older, taller version of Ned stood on the other side.

"You must be Jim Leeds," Happy said in getting. "I'm Happy Hogan, a friend of May's. Come on in." He stepped back to allow the other man to enter.

Jim eyed Happy suspiciously as he stepped through the doorway and entered the apartment. He immediately spotted Ned sitting on the couch with Peter. Both boys were busy studying their fingernails.

Turning to Happy and May, who had moved to stand beside him, Jim asked, "So, what's going on?"

May gestured for Happy to start off the conversation. "I was headed home when I spotted these two," he gestured toward Peter and Ned, "walking along 73rd. I knew good and well that Peter has a curfew and shouldn't be out at that time of night, and I figured Ned does, too." Jim nodded his agreement. "Plus, there's no reason they should be in that area. I pulled over to talk to them, and realized they were less than sober."

Jim's gaze shot to Ned. "What do you mean?" he asked Happy.

"You want to tell him, boys, or should I?" Happy crossed his arms over his chest as he pinned the teenagers with a hard look.

Ned raised his eyes briefly to look at his father's concerned face while Peter just shrugged. "Pot and beer," Ned said softly as he looked back down at his lap.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," Happy responded. Jim looked at him quizzically. Obviously, this man had some type of relationship with May and Peter that allowed him to assert at least some authority over the teenager. After all, they may not have said it, but it was obvious that Happy had been heading home from a date with May. Jim really hoped his assumptions were correct, as May deserved someone in her life that brought her happiness.

"We'd smoked pot and had a few beers to drink." It was Peter who responded that time.

Jim looked from the two teenagers to the other adults, not quite believing what he'd heard.

"Ned lost most of what he drank in the bushes out front, but they were pretty unsteady on their feet when I stopped them. I brought them back here."

May took over the narration at that point. "I called Happy right after I got off the phone with you," she told Jim. "I thought maybe he could call Tony and get him to track Peter's phone."

Jim looked confused. He knew about Peter's internship with Stark Industries and Tony Stark, and after some initial misgivings thought it had been good for the teenager. He also knew from his conversations with Peter and the things that Ned had told him that Tony Stark had, unexpectedly, taken a personal interest in him.

May gave an embarrassed short laugh. "I'm sorry, I guess you weren't introduced to Happy properly."

Happy glanced at her as he interrupted. "I'm Tony Stark's personal driver and former bodyguard. May and I met through Peter's internship."

Jim nodded his understanding. "Go on," he encouraged.

"Anyway," May continued. "I called Happy, and he told me he'd found them and was downstairs. I called you immediately."

"Okay, guys," Jim said, "it's your turn. Tell us where you were and what you did. Ned, you told me you were coming here."

"And Peter told me he was spending the night with Ned," May stated dryly.

Peter looked at Ned, who nodded in silent agreement. "We went to a party. We didn't plan on doing anything, but the place was so full of marijuana smoke, and I started feeling different, so I decided to try it when someone passed a joint to me. I took a couple of puffs and passed it on . . . ."

"To me," Ned interrupted. "I smoked it, too. Then someone else was passing out beer, and we both accepted a can." He shrugged as if the rest of the story was self explanatory.

"Was this the party I had already said you couldn't attend?" Ned's father asked sternly.

"Yes, sir," Ned responded quietly.

"Peter, I believe I told you that you couldn't go either, " May commented. Peter nodded his head, but didn't respond otherwise.

"Whose idea was it to lie about where you were going and go anyway? " Jim demanded.

"We kinda came up with the idea together," Peter responded. Ned nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Jim stated. "How did you end up on 73rd? That's nowhere near where that party was being held or near your homes."

Ned shrugged again. "I … a … don't remember leaving the party, or anything really until Happy found us."

"Me, either."

None of the adults in the room were happy to hear the boys' confession.

"I think it's time that Ned and I leave," Jim said, breaking the awkward silence that descended on the room following the teenagers' confession. Turning h to Happy, he held out his hand. "Thank you for your help tonight. I'm not sure what we would have done if you hadn't spotted them when you did."

Happy shook the proffered hand and gave a slight grin. "I was glad to help. They're good kids."

Jim nodded in acknowledgement of the other man's words. "Come on, Ned. Let's go." He watched as Ned slowly got to his feet and crossed the room. He couldn't tell if the boy's slow pace was due to reluctance, the effects of the drugs and alcohol he'd consumed, or a combination thereof.

"I'll text you later," Ned said to Peter.

"If I were you, Peter, I wouldn't count on hearing from Ned before you see each other at school on Monday." With that Jim dropped a hand on the back of Ned's neck and directed him toward the door.

"I think I'll head out, too," Happy said, turning to give Peter a hard look. When the teenager started squirming in his seat, the older man turned to May. "I'll talk to you soon," he said with a smile. With one last glance in Peter's direction, he left the apartment.

Peter stood, intending to find something to eat in the kitchen then go to bed. "Sit your butt back down on that couch," May ordered immediately.

He plopped down and crossed his arms over his chest. He was so not ready to have this conversation. He was hungry and his head hurt. All he wanted to do was get a snack and fall into his bed.

"Peter!"

The sharp rebuke from his aunt drew his attention back to the matter at hand. "What?" He snapped.

"Don't 'what' me, young man. You're in enough trouble already, so you don't want to add an attitude on top of it. Now answer my question."

Peter had no idea what question his aunt had asked. Instead of answering her, he asked the question that had managed to work it's way through the fuzziness of his mind. "Are you and Happy dating?"

May was momentarily taken aback. She hadn't expected Peter to so totally ignore her question, and it caused her temper to flare. She took a deep breath and counted to ten, trying somewhat unsuccessfully to calm herself down. "You know what, Peter, just go to bed, and I mean straight to bed. We'll talk about this tomorrow when you're sober and I'm not so angry. And I strongly suggest you do exactly as you are told."

"Or what," he asked belligerently as he came to his feet, "you'll call your boyfriend back to deal with me?"

May quickly moved to stand so close to Peter that she was invading his personal space. She stabbed a finger in the direction of his face and practically snarled, "no, I'll deal with it, and you won't like it at all."

Peter stared at his aunt. He had never seen her that angry before, and a warning bell went off in his brain that told him that he had pushed her too far. He didn't quite trust himself to speak, so he nodded once in acknowledgement of her words as he took a step back.

Satisfied that she had gotten her point across, May moved away from him to give him the space needed to do as she'd instructed. "Peter, I don't know where this attitude of yours has come from, but it had better be gone in the morning."

 **TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** My muse wouldn't let me work on this or post it until I went back and worked on some of the earlier chapters. So, to satisfy it, I have re-written chapters 1 and 2 to convert them from first person, and I added some bits to chapter 2. I was never really happy with chapter 4, so it has been extensively rewritten. Chapter 4A has been rewritten as well and has been combined with chapter 4. The other chapters were edited for grammar and autocorrect errors, and chapters 5 through 8 were renumbered. That's why it looks like there's a chapter missing. Go back and re-read the earlier chapters and let me know what you think. Hopefully, you'll like the changes as much as I do.

 **CHAPTER 9**

Peter stretched and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. A glance at the alarm clock on his nightstand told him it was almost 10:30. He rolled onto his back and groaned out loud as he remembered the events of the night before.

At least Happy had brought him and Ned here rather than taking them to the Tower, he thought as he climbed out of bed and made his way toward the bathroom across the hall. May would probably just lecture him about what had happened (Peter made a mental note to apologize to her for his attitude). Tony, on the other hand, would probably have already busted his butt. Which really was a little hypocritical of him, Peter thought, considering his own past drug and alcohol use.

A few minutes later Peter entered the kitchen and was surprised to see May sitting at the table nursing a mug of coffee. He grabbed a couple of protein bars and a glass of milk and joined her. "I thought you had to work this morning? " he asked by way of greeting.

"I got Susan to cover my shift so we could talk about last night." She took a sip of her coffee and studied her nephew over the rim of her mug.

Peter had already devoured the first protein bar and was halfway through the second one, but he suddenly lost his appetite. He folded the wrapper back over the uneaten portion and laid it on the table. He took a sip of his milk, but it and the food threatened to come back up as nervous nausea roiled in his stomach. There was something un-May like about the way she'd said it that put him on edge. "So, what's going on with you and Happy," he asked, trying to delay the inevitable conversation.

"We will talk about me and Happy later. Right now, we're going to discuss you and your actions. Go get your phone and bring it here," May directed. "Now," she added in a hard, commanding tone when the teenager didn't move.

"Why?" Peter asked suspiciously.

"Just do as you're told."

Peter hadn't heard that hard tone in May's voice for a very long time, but he knew it was one to be obeyed immediately. As he left the table to do as she'd ordered, he began to wonder if he had miscalculated in his earlier assessment of May's reaction to the events of the night before.

He returned to the kitchen a few minutes later, phone in hand. He sighed heavily in resignation as he placed the device in May's outstretched palm.

She studied his face for a moment before asking, "Is there anything you want to tell me before I look at your text messages?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders. She was going to read them either way, so it really didn't matter if he told her or not.

May studied Peter's face for a moment before keying in the code to unlock the device. For the first time she was thankful that, before he had given the phone to Peter, Tony Stark had pre-set a security code for the two of them to use in case they ever needed to access the phone's contents.

She frowned as she scrolled through the text conversation between Peter and Ned. They had acknowledged that neither she nor Ned's parents had agreed to let them go to the party because of the host's reputation for drug and alcohol use. They also discussed the fact that drugs and alcohol were likely to be there, but they both wanted to go because it was going to be the place to be on Friday night. Not to mention, the girl Ned had a crush on was going to be there. May's face hardened even more when she read their plans for going behind their parents' and guardian's backs to attend.

When she was finished, May laid the phone face down on the table and took a sip of her coffee to calm herself. "I'm surprised at you, Peter, and not a little disappointed," she said. "I thought you were smarter and more responsible than to go to a party where you knew there would be underage drinking and illegal drug use - not to mention that you would actively get involved in that. Plus, I'm hurt that you would disrespect me so much by going behind my back and lying to me to do it."

Peter hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry Aunt May."

"Why did you do it?"

"I don't know," Peter responded as he studied the wood grain pattern of the table. He couldn't bring himself to meet his aunt's eyes.

"You don't know," May said with an incredulous laugh. "Is that all you have to say in your defense?" When Peter didn't respond, she continued. "Does this have anything to do with Spiderman? Do you think that because you have special abilities and get to play at being a superhero you don't have to do what I tell you or follow the few rules I have set in place for your safety and wellbeing? Because if that's the case, maybe I need to rethink this whole thing."

"What?!" Peter was stunned. He looked up at his aunt and was surprised at the serious look on her face. She really didn't mean she was going to take Spiderman away from him just because he went around her back to go to a party and then got wasted - or did she? Peter wasn't so sure. "No," he said quickly. "Spiderman had nothing to do with it. I just wanted," he paused and swallowed hard. It was hard for him to make this admission, but if it meant losing Spiderman if he didn't, he really didn't have a choice. "That party was going to be the place to be on Friday night, and all the cool kids were going to be there. I just wanted to be thought of as being cool for once, instead of being the nerd who always screws up the curve for everyone else." He hung his head again and said softly, "I'm sorry, Aunt May. Please don't take Spiderman away from me."

May sighed heavily. "Peter, you know the dangers of drugs and alcohol. We've discussed it, and I know there have been presentations about it at school. What made you think it would be okay for you to smoke pot and drink beer?"

Again, Peter shrugged. "I thought with my enhanced metabolism I'd be able to handle it. Besides, I didn't want to be the only one there not doing it," he said quietly.

"Peter Benjamin Parker, I'm sure I don't have to tell you how disappointed I am in you."

Peter shook his head.

"Okay, here's the deal. You're completely grounded for the next two weeks — no phone, no computer except for homework, no television or other electronics, and no Spiderman. That includes your time with Tony Stark."

Peter gaped in surprise. "No, Aunt May. You can't ground me from Spiderman."

May's eyes narrowed as she leaned over the table and pointed a finger in Peter's face. "You argue with me, and I'll make it a full month."

"Yes, ma'am," Peter said, resigned to his fate.

May sat back and picked up Peter's phone and held it out to him. "Call Mr. Stark and tell him you won't be available for the next two weeks."

It was Peter's turn to sigh heavily. Having this conversation with his Aunt May had been bad enough, but Tony Stark was not going to be happy with what he was going to tell him. At least he was doing it over the phone rather than in person, Peter couldn't help but think.

Tony was at his desk going through his email when his phone rang. He glanced at it, intending to ignore it until he saw Peter's name on the caller ID. "Good morning, Underroos. I'm so pleased to be graced with the sound of your voice, even though we'll be seeing each other in," he paused to glance at his watch, "about three hours."

"About that, Mr. Stark, I ah . . ."

Tony's eyes narrowed. There was something going on with the kid, and he instinctively knew he wasn't going to like it. "You wha?" he asked suspiciously.

"I've … ah … been grounded for the next two weeks. And … ah … it includes all Spiderman activities. I won't be able to come over."

Tony shook his head in disbelief. May had a tendency to be lenient with the teenager — too lenient in his opinion. But, he didn't have any right to voice his opinion there. Peter's life outside of Spiderman was May's concern, not his. But if he'd done something serious enough for May to ground him, it must have been somtething major. "What did you do, Peter?" He asked, his voice a mixture of curiousity and concern.

"I … ah … went to a party last night and got stoned."

"Is that all there is to it?" Tony asked, suspecting he hadn't been told the whole story.

"Um," Peter hesitated before continuing, "I wasn't supposed to be at the party, and I lied to May about going," he said in a rush. "Happy found me and had to bring me home."

Tony rubbed his free hand over his face. "What did you use?" He would talk to his friend later to get the full details, but right now his focus was on Peter.

"I smoked pot and drank beer."

"Why?" Tony asked, not knowing that May had asked the same question.

Peter gave his mentor the same response he'd given his aunt.

"Okay, Peter, I can't believe you just said that. I thought you knew better. So, you're going to write me a five page research paper on the effects of drugs and alcohol on the developing teenage body — complete with citations to academic or scholarly works."

"Come on, Mr. Stark, you can't be serious. You did a lot more drugs and drank when you were my age."

Tony drew in a sharp breath. "Just for that, it's now a ten page paper. In my inbox by 6:00 p.m. Friday. Want to try for fifteen?" He asked, his voice hard.

"No, sir." Peter's voice was far from conciliatory. In fact, Tony would almost classify it as snide, but he chose to ignore it.

"Consider this a 'do as I say and not as I do' moment, Mr. Parker. I wasn't as lucky as you to have someone who cared enough about me to stem my substance abuse issues. Neither May nor I are going to let you go down that road, so consider what's happened today as a warning. I'm sure I speak for your aunt when I say that if this happens again, things will go much worse for you."

"Yes, sir," Peter responded. This time his voice sounded contrite.

"Pass the phone to your aunt. I assume she's there with you."

Peter held the phone out to May. "Mr. Start wants to speak to you."

A few moments later May ended the call and slipped the phone into the pocket of her robe. "You'll get it back on Monday for your trip to and from school. It's to be used only for emergencies — no calls or texts. It goes right back onto the charger in my bedroom the moment you get home, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Peter wasn't happy about it, but he knew better than to argue with his aunt. He got up from the table to go to his room to begin his prison sentence.

"And, Peter," May waited until he had turned to look back at her. "If you ever lie to me again, I will take a page out of Tony Stark's play book and spank you."

Peter swallowed hard. He had no doubt that his aunt would follow through with her promise. It was bad enough getting his butt handed to him by Mr. Stark. He couldn't imagine how embarassing it would be to have his aunt do it. He vowed then and there that he would make sure that never happened.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I've had this chapter in mind for a while, but I haven't had as much time to write as I'd like.

 **CHAPTER 10**

Peter hunched down in the bus seat and inserted earbuds into his ears. He was still in the second week of his grounding, and he was sure that listening to music on his phone during the bus ride home would violate his Aunt May's "no electronics" order. But, there was a couple in the back of the bus who were having a shouting match, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. The music started playing, and he turned it up loud enough to drown out the argument but not so loud as to bother his sensitive hearing.

He was watching the passing scenery, contemplating whether it would be worth getting off the bus several blocks early and just walking to his next bus stop, when the ping of an incoming text message caught his attention. Everyone who would have reason to text him knew he was grounded from his phone, so he was curious to see who it was from.

Peter narrowed his eyes in concern when he turned the phone over and saw the message was from MJ and said simply "spiderman." He was still trying to puzzle out what it meant when a second text saying "911" popped up.

Peter was instantly alert. He didn't need his spider sense to tell him something was seriously wrong with MJ. She wasn't one to text needlessly, nor was she one to send such cryptic messages.

The next text came as the bus slowed for its next stop. Peter grabbed his backpack and moved to join the line of people exiting the vehicle. He glanced down at his phone when it pinged to announce the arrival of the next text - "gunman."

His pulse accelerated and his heart began pumping out of his check as it dawned on Peter that MJ wasn't being cryptic on purpose. She was sending texts as she was able, letting him know she needed his help. "Come on, MJ, tell me where," he muttered as he exited the bus. It didn't even occur to him to worry about the fact that his friend had apparently figured out his secret identity as Spiderman. He was too focused on finding an alley that he could duck into and change into his suit.

It felt like hours passed before Peter found a suitable alley and changed before making his way to the rooftop of one of the nearby buildings. His phone pinged again. "Work."

"Karen," Peter said, already swinging off the building. "Find out whether the police are involved in any type of situation at Lynch's Bakery on Fourteenth." He headed in that direction.

"Sir," Karen said a few moments later, "the Metropolitan police and a crisis response unit are in place. There is apparently a single gunman holding several people hostage in the bakery. According to the chatter on the police radio bands, it is a domestic matter between the gunman and one of the bakery's employees."

"Call whoever is in charge, please," Peter instructed, not liking what he was hearing. He didn't have a whole lot of experience dealing with domestic disputes, but he knew they could be really messy. He was afraid for everyone caught in the middle of it, especially for MJ.

Minutes passed, and Spiderman was almost to the bakery when Karen notified him that she was placing the call.

"Marconni," a stern voice sounded in the suit's communication system.

"Um . . ." Peter hesitated, not quite knowing how to begin the conversation.

"Talk or I'm hanging up," Marconni directed. "I'm a busy man and don't have time for this."

"Um . . . don't hang up," Peter stammered. "This is Spiderman. I'm on my way to your location. I want to help."

Marconni paused. "Great, that's all I need. A teenage vigilante getting in the way. How did you get this number?"

"I'm not going to get in the way," Peter said, ignoring Marconni's question. "I can help. Please," he said, trying to think of what to say to convince Marconni of his good intentions. "I've been involved in resolving hostage crises before. I can get into the building and do things you aren't able. I can end this without anyone getting hurt."

Marconni didn't respond, but Peter could hear the murmur of a conversation between him and someone nearby. Peter landed on the roof of a building across the street from the bakery. He could see the police barricade set up nearby. "Karen," he said, muting his line of communication with Marconni, "send a message to Friday so she can let Mr. Stark know what's going on."

"Okay." Marconni's sudden interjection caught Peter's attention. "My lieutenant says he's worked with you before, and that I can trust you. How long until you get here?"

Peter swung off the roof and landed in a crouch behind the group of officers. "I'm here now," he said, rising to a standing position. He watched as a tall, grey-haired man turned in his direction. The man still held a cellphone at his ear. Peter moved to stand in front of him and held out his hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm Spiderman."

"Captain Marconni." The older man shook Peter's hand. "There is a single suspect holding at least six people hostage in the dining area of the bakery. We believe one of the hostages is his estranged wife. So far, he's refused all of our attempts to contact him."

Peter nodded. "Have you been able to get any surveillance footage of the situation?"

"No, we can't approach the building without him seeing us. He's got them in the dining area, where he can see out the front windows. We'd rather settle this by negotiation rather than a sniper shot from a nearby building. There's a lot less risk to the hostages. We can't get in through the backdoor because it's locked from the inside."

"Okay," Peter said softly, more to himself than to Captain Marconni. "Let me take a look around so I know what I'm working with." Without waiting on the captain's consent, Peter shot a stream of webbing toward the nearby building and swung away. He made his way back to the roof where he'd perched only a few minutes before.

"Karen, scan the building for heat signatures and any potential points of entry. Also, see if you can't find any blueprints or information regarding the layout of the bakery." He'd been there a few times to visit MJ at work, but he wasn't familiar enough with the first floor of the building to trust his memory.

Only a few minutes passed before Karen said, "there are seven heat signatures in the front portion of the building. One is standing, and six appear to be huddled together about five to ten feet away. Based on the available schematics of the building, I can confirm Captain Marconni's information that they are in the dining area."

"Are there any windows or air vents where I might be able to enter or send in a drone without being seen?"

"According to the schematics, there is a window approximately six feet off the ground. I believe it is a men's restroom. There is also an air vent in the kitchen that might be suitable for a drone."

Peter grinned. He quickly called Captain Marconni and relayed the information before making his way to the back of the building. Karen directed him to the location of the air vent. Once there, he pulled a small, dime shaped drone out of a hidden pocket in his suit. He and Tony had recently developed them, and this was the first time he would be using one in the field.

He pressed a small button on the top of the drone, causing eight legs to fold out from underneath the disc. A small camera also popped up on top. Peter grinned at its spider-like appearance as he placed the drone on one of the vent slats. "Okay, send it in," he instructed Karen. At his direction, the drone entered the kitchen through the air vent. It flew across the room to the door leading to the service area as he continued to guide it with verbal instructions to Karen.

Peter hoped he was remembering correctly that the dining area was near the kitchen, separated only by a glass counter. He directed the drone through a crack in the swinging doors. It came to rest beside the cash register, where it provided a full view of the room.

Peter studied the lay out of the large space. He noted that the hallway leading to the restrooms was off to the side, behind where the gunman was currently pacing across the floor. The man was cradling a good-sized handgun against his chest. He was ranting and occasionally gestured angrily toward one of the women huddled in front of the service counter. The drone wasn't wired for sound, so Peter wasn't able to hear what the man was saying, but he could tell things were on the verge of escalating to a dangerous level.

Once again, Peter called Captain Marconni and reported what he'd learned during his reconnaissance. "I can go in through the window into the men's room and approach through the hallway. Once I have him in sight, I can web him up. That will neutralize the situation, and you can come in and rescue the hostages."

Captain Marconni listened to Peter's plan, then told him to hold his position until further notice. Turning to the men with him, he discussed the plan. "Spiderman, how sure are you that you can do it safely and without undue risk to the hostages?" he asked a few minutes later.

"As sure as I can be," Peter responded. "My drone is still in place, and it looks like that guy is getting more and more agitated. I'm afraid that if we wait much longer, it's going to be too late. He's going to act soon." It was said with more confidence than Peter actually felt. Inside, he was scared to death. He wished Tony or Nat were there to tell him he was doing the right thing.

Peter could tell Marconni was discussing the situation and his plan with the other officers. A moment passed. "Do it," came the order.

After making his way to the side of the building, Peter found the window Karen had identified. It was closed and, presumably, locked from the inside. He climbed the wall until he was even with the window and covered it with a layer of webbing. Using his enhanced strength, he pulled the window pane free of its casing and gently lowered it to the ground. He hadn't wanted to break the window, and this way the owner of the building would just have to repair the window frame.

Peter quickly and silently slipped through the window and into the restroom. He had a thing about public restrooms and immediately felt a little queasy. He pushed the thought of where he was out of his mind and moved into the hallway. Before reaching the point in the hallway where he would become visible to the people in the dining area, he asked Karen to bring up the current drone footage and studied the gunman's location. Peter quickly ran through the angles and mathematical calculations in his head and soon realized that he was at the wrong angle to be able to web up the gun and pull it from the other man's hands. Instead, Peter moved into position and tossed a web grenade at the gunman's back.

The grenade hit its intended target and exploded, wrapping a thick layer of webbing around the man's torso and effectively pinning his arms to his body. Before the man could react, Peter stepped out into the opening of the hallway and shot a stream of webbing. When it wrapped around the gun, Peter pulled it from the man's hand and stuck it to the ceiling, out of anyone else's reach. A second stream of webbing attached to the man's back. Using the web's momentum, Peter yanked on it, causing the man to fly backward into the wall. Before anyone realized what was happening, Peter had covered the man in webbing, leaving only his head visible. Without acknowledging the hostages in the room, Peter slapped something onto the man's chest then made his way back into the hallway and through the restroom window to the alley. He called Captain Marconni as he made his way to the building's roof.

"The gunman is neutralized. He's hanging from the north wall, and he's all yours. There's a packet on his chest. Mix the contents with four ounces of water. It'll make a solvent that will dissolve the webbing." It was something he had developed with Bruce's help, and Peter felt like now was an appropriate time to deploy it in the field for the first time. After all, there was no reason to make things more difficult for the police than they already were.

Peter watched as the hostages led from the bakery by a couple of Captain Marconni's officers. He wanted to check on MJ, but he was afraid that would just confirm her suspicions about his identity. I'm going to have to figure out how to deal with that, he thought as he swung off the roof toward the alley where he'd hidden his backpack. He needed to call Tony and let him know what had happened, then he'd have to go home and face the music with his Aunt May. There was no way his involvement in this mess hadn't made the news - or at least social media and the Internet. He just hoped she'd give him a break since he had done it in order to rescue MJ.

No sooner had Peter landed on the roof of one of the buildings lining the alley where his backpack was hidden, then his cell phone pinging, signaling an incoming text message. He was almost reluctant to look at it, and he wasn't surprised to see that it was from MJ. He groaned aloud when he read, "thank you, Spiderman." Yep, she definitely knew his secret identity. He was going to have to talk to Tony about that.

Climbing down the wall, he found his backpack where he'd left it webbed to the back of the trash dumpster. He pulled it out of its protective casing as he told Karen to initiate a call to Tony.

*** IM SM IM SM ***

"I thought you were grounded from all Spiderman activities," Tony said by way of greeting when he answered Peter's phone call. He knew exactly what his young protege' had been doing, as he, Nat and Bruce had watched the nanny cam footage of his rescue of the hostages. When Friday had relayed the information that Spiderman was assisting the Metropolitan Police with the hostage situation at Lynch's Bakery, he had pulled up the footage and watched the teenager in action. He was so proud of the teenager that he could bare suppress it.

"I am, but I got this series of text messages from my friend, MJ. She was one of the hostages. I, ah, just couldn't ignore it." Peter pulled his backpack around and maneuvered so he could use it as a seat. He had a feeling this conversation was going to take a little, and he'd rather have it with his feet planted instead of while he was swinging through the air.

"I had Karen put me in touch with the person in charge of the police response team. After I talked to him and convinced him to let me help, I had her pass the information on to Friday, so she could let you know what was happening." Peter paused, almost holding his breath while waiting for Tony's response. He thought he'd done everything correctly, but there was a little bit of lingering doubt in the back of his mind.

Tony grinned. "Huh, who would have thought your brain was connected directly to your backside." He ignored the curious looks sent his way by Nat and Bruce. "Seems you actually learned something from the last time." He'd thought briefly about teasing the kid further, but that would only serve to embarrass him. Nat knew Tony had taken his belt to Peter's backside after the incident with the skrzak. But neither she nor Bruce knew about the MOMA incident, and there was no reason he needed to tell them about it now.

"You did exactly what I wanted you to do, kid. Good job on that." Tony could almost see and feel Peter's wide grin through the phone. "Tell us what happened," he suggested, even though he and the others had seen every second of footage from the Spiderman suit's nanny cam.

"Us?" Peter questioned, suddenly embarrassed. "Who else is there?"

"Nat and Bruce. We were talking about the Accords when Friday passed on the information from Karen," Tony responded. "Now, tell us what happened."

Tony couldn't help but grin when Peter gave an enthusiastic play-by-play account of what had happened at the bakery. He wondered if the kid was finished or was just stopping to take a breath when he paused.

"Mr. Stark, there's something else I need to talk to you about, " Peter finally continued.

Tony started to tell Peter, once again, to stop calling him Mr. Stark, but something in his gut told his it wasn't the right time to do that. "What is it, Peter?" he questioned, adopting the teenager's serious tone and sharing a look with Bruce and Nat.

"It's about …."

Whatever Peter was going to say was interrupted by a sudden, loud explosion.

"Peter …" Tony demanded a response, but there was nothing but silence on the other end of the call.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** I know that was mean of me to leave you with a cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter, but I couldn't help myself. I originally wanted to get this chapter out relatively quickly. I know how frustrating it is to wait on the next chapter of a story as I've been haunting my inbox waiting for updates on the stories I'm following. But, while I know what I wanted to happen, I've been having trouble figuring how it's going to happen. I'm still working on some parts of that. But, my thoughts were that it's better to publish a relatively short chapter than make you wait even longer until all of it has been figured out.

There are a few things I still want to address in this story, but I may be bringing it to a close soon as I'm running out of ideas. I don't want to go down the "May dies, and Tony adopts Peter" route that is so popular in these stories. I'm not a huge fan of that (although it has made for some good stories), and I want to try to stay as original as possible. But, if you have any suggestions or ideas, please send me a private message. If I like your suggestion and it sparks my creative juices, I'll give you a shout out.

 **CHAPTER 11**

"Peter!" Tony shouted into the phone. When he received only silence in response, he shared a look with Nat and Bruce. All three rose to their feet and started toward the doorway, Tony intent on getting to a launching area where he could activate his Ironman suit, and the other two intent on getting to a quinjet. They all wanted to get to Peter's location as quickly as possible to find out what had happened to their young friend and protege.

"Friday, patch me through to Karen."

It felt like an eternity passed before Friday responded, "Karen is offline. I did extrapolate Peter's location based on the coordinates from Karen's last transmission and reports of an explosion nearby. However, I have no data as to his current condition."

Not for the first time Tony was thankful that the AI he had created had autonomous thought. He was too worried about his young protege to focus on anything else. "Make Peter's location available to the others and send it to my suit." He stepped out onto the launch pad and activated his suit to form around him. "Call Rhodes," he directed. When the other man picked up, Tony didn't waste time with pleasantries. "Friday is going to send you some coordinates. I need War Machine and Vision there ASAP. There was an explosion and Peter's involved. I don't know any details. I'm headed there now in my suit, and Nat and Bruce are taking a quinjet."

As Tony flew off in the direction of the coordinates Friday had identified, he had his AI patch through a call to the appropriate authorities. Whoever he spoke to wasn't going to like what he was about to say, and Tony wouldn't have blamed them. Friday had already informed him that early speculation was that a gas line had ruptured and brought down parts of three buildings. The coordinates of Peter's last known location put him at the epicenter of the blast.

"This is Ironman," he said as soon as his call was answered. "I'm enroute to the explosion site, along with War Machine and Vision." The other two Avengers had joined him and were flanking him as he sped to the rescue. "We have reason to believe that a young man who is training to join the Avengers was caught in the explosion. He was in his suit. Since he's underage, we want to protect his identity. You are to keep your men out of the immediate area until he has been recovered." Tony ignored the man's angry outburst in opposition. "In exchange, we will use the technology at our disposal to locate all of the victims trapped in the rubble. War Machine and Vision will work to extract other victims while I extract our colleague. Once he's out, your people can move in." Tony paused. "Even with the delay in your people going in, victims will be rescued quicker than if you had to find them through your standard search and rescue techniques."

Moments later, the three Avengers arrived at the site of the explosion. "If I didn't know better," Rhodes said over the open comm channel, "I would have thought a bomb had exploded." Sections of multiple buildings were lying in a jumbled pile of steel, brick, and glass. What was once an alley was now a pile of rubble. Neither Tony nor Vision responded to Rhodes's comment. The same thought was going through their minds.

"Friday, scan the area. Locate Peter and any other victims. Send the results to me, War Machine, and Vision."

Tony was vaguely aware that the quinjet had arrived and was hovering nearby. He didn't need to tell Nat to stay at the aircraft's controls or Bruce to have a triage area ready. They knew time would be of the essence once they found Peter, and they would likely need to get him to the medbay at the Avengers' Compound as quickly as possible.

"Yes, Boss," the AI responded immediately. Even her voice was more subdued than usual upon seeing the devastation below them. Only minutes passed before Friday spoke again. "I have located Peter and seven other heat signatures. The information is being transmitted."

Tony nodded to Rhodes and Vision, who flew off to begin the task of rescuing the buried victims. He immediately went to the area where Friday had located Peter. As he studied the pile of rubble, he couldn't help but wonder how anyone, even someone with Peter's enhancements, could have survived that blast.

The task seemed to be taking forever. Tony was meticulously shifting rubble, watching for any sign that he was getting close to Peter and forcing himself to ignore the niggling fear that he would reach the teenager, only to find his mangled, dead body. He was peripherally aware due to conversations taking place over the open comms channel that Rhodes and Vision had uncovered a few survivors and that Search and Rescue personnel had extracted them and whisked them off for medical care.

"Boss?" Friday's voice infiltrated Tony's concentration.

"What?" Tony demanded shortly as he lifted a large section of broken concrete and moved it away from the pile of rubble he was currently searching.

"I'm detecting a heat signature and faint life signs approximately three feet and at 80 degrees to your left."

"Direct me," Tony instructed, requesting that the AI scan the area and let him know where it would be safe to step and stand while he worked in the identified area. Following her directions, he stood within inches of where he hoped to find Peter. He carefully began removing bricks and chunks of concrete from the mound of rubble.

It felt like he'd worked for hours before he uncovered a scrape of red fabric. Tony recognized it as a piece from Peter's suit. He began working quicker, and within moments had uncovered one of Peter's hands. Quickly shifting more rubble, Tony left out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding as he uncovered the rest of the teenager.

"Friday, scan him." Tony hesitated before reaching out to touch Peter. The teenager's mask and the left side of his suit were shredded. His face was already so swollen and bruised that the kid was nearly unrecognizable. It was obvious his left shoulder was dislocated, and his left leg was lying at an odd angle. Tony was almost afraid to hear what Friday was going to report.

"Peter's life signs are weak, but they are present. Due to his injuries, I recommend using a litter to transport him to the quinjet."

It didn't go unnoticed by Tony that Friday had not recited the list of Peter's injuries. Normally, he would have demanded that information. At the moment, though, he didn't think he could handle it.

"I got him," Tony announced over the open comms channel. "He's alive, but he is seriously injured. Friday is recommending transport to the quinjet by litter."

"That's probably not a bad idea in case there are any neck or spinal injuries," Bruce's voice came over the channel. "Any idea of the extent of his injuries?"

"I will obtain a litter from the Search and Rescue squad and bring it to you," Vision interrupted before Tony could respond to Bruce's question. "Then I will assist you in transporting him to the quinjet."

Tony hadn't had the chance yet to even think about how he was going to get a litter to his present location. "Thanks, Vision. Bruce, I'll have Friday send the results of her scans to your tablet. I haven't looked at them." Tony either wasn't able or wasn't willing to admit that he couldn't bring himself to do it. "Visually, though, it looks like he's got a head injury, dislocated shoulder, and broken leg. His hip may be broken as well. It looks like he took the brunt of the blast on his left side. His suit is shredded."

The silence on the comms channel in response to Tony's statement was nearly deafening as the others absorbed the implications of what was being said. It was broken only when Vision stated, "I have obtained the litter and am on my way to your location."

Tony continued to remove rubble from around Peter's body as he waited for the android's arrival.

When Vision finally arrived with the litter, Tony gently turned Peter over and had to swallow back vomit at the feel of broken bones shifting in Peter's hips and legs as he was moved. Tony pushed away the feeling of panic that threatened to overwhelm him. He had to focus on getting Peter to the quinjet so Bruce could begin tending to him. Get Peter to safety, then fall apart, Tony ordered himself sternly.

"Are you ready?" Vision asked quietly. He, too, was concerned about Peter's condition. When Tony nodded, they gently lifted the teenager and placed him on the litter and buckled him in.

"Friday, what is Peter's condition?"

"There are no changes to his condition," Friday replied. "His life signs remain weak. I recommend getting him to medical attention as soon as possible."

Vision nodded at Tony. They each grabbed a side of the litter and, taking care to keep it even, took off toward the quinjet.

"We're coming in hot, Nat. Open the cargo bay door so we can get Peter to Bruce."

They entered the open door and moved swiftly to where Bruce was standing in the makeshift triage area he'd quickly set up in the jet's small cargo bay. As soon as Peter had been transferred onto the bed, Vision took the litter and launched himself off the still open cargo bay door to resume assisting in the search and rescue of blast survivors.

Bruce immediately began examining Peter, checking his vital signs and running his hands over the teenager's broken body. He then pulled up the readings Friday had sent to his tablet. He remained silent throughout the entire process.

Tony deactivated the Ironman suit and moved to stand beside the makeshift bed. "Bruce?" he questioned.

"You're going to have to give me room to work, Tony," Bruce stated, ignoring the other man's question, as he stepped around Tony to continue his examination. He wasn't happy about the results of Friday's scan, and his own examination had only strengthened his concerns. Peter needed medical treatment immediately. After glancing at Tony, Bruce quickly typed something into his tablet.

"Tony," Nat said over the intercom, "has anyone notified Peter's aunt? She needs to know what's happening."

Tony rolled his eyes and moved away from the bed as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "Happy," he said as soon as his call was answered, "grab your girlfriend and get to the Avengers' compound. Peter's been hurt. We're taking him there now." He disconnected the call before Happy could ask any questions.

Ignoring the hard look Bruce shot in his direction, Tony made his way back over to Peter's bed. "Talk to me, Bruce," he ordered.

Bruce sighed as he fitted an oxygen mask over Peter's nose and mouth. Short of that, there was very little he could do for the young hero until they reached the compound. "His vitals are weak, but they are still present. According to Friday's scans, he has multiple skull fractures, his left shoulder is dislocated, there are several cracked ribs, and his left hip and femur are shattered." He paused, turning to look at Tony. "My guess is that his left side of his body was facing the blast. The only reason he's still alive is a combination of his spider mutation and the suit you made for him. Any other, normal person would have been killed."

Turning his back on Tony under the pretext of checking Peter's vital signs again, Bruce quietly instructed Nat to get them to the Compound as fast as she could push the quinjet. Even though Peter was stable at the moment, Bruce didn't like the look of his injuries and vital signs. The teenager wasn't out of the woods yet, and he didn't have any kind of medical equipment aboard the quinjet beyond that for basic life support. If Peter's condition went critical, there would be very little Bruce could do to help.

As the reality of how close Peter had come to dying hit him Tony's face blanched, and he looked for a place to sit down. Spotting a crate nearby he quickly moved to collapse down on it. Leaning forward and propping his elbows on his knees, he lowered his face into his hands and tried to stem the tears that flowed down his face.

At Tony's sudden movement, Bruce looked up from the message he was sending to the Compound's medical personnel to inform them of Peter's condition and to instruct them to get in touch with Dr. Helen Cho and request that she come to consult on his case. He turned to look for his friend and was a little startled to see him sitting on a crate, his head in his hands. Bruce quickly finished the message, hit send, and placed the tablet he was holding on Peter's bed before moving to Tony's side. Placing a comforting hand on the top of the other man's head, he said, "Peter is strong. He'll pull through this." He just hoped he wasn't wrong, because he didn't think any of them would survive the death of Peter Parker unscathed.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** Hello, everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to say that I hope you are all keeping safe and healthy during this time. I know I said I'd try harder to post new chapters on a more timely basis, but I found this one hard to write.

I'd love to hear from my readers. Please post a review or send me a private message if you have any suggestions for upcoming chapters (I'm running out of ideas, folks) or if you have constructive critcism.

 **CHAPTER 12**

Tony was sprawled in a chair in a waiting area outside the medbay at the Avengers' Headquarters in upstate New York. It had taken thirty minutes for the quinjet to make its way there from the explosion site. Nat had pushed the jet's engines to nearly the redline the entire way. Bruce had physically blocked him from following the medics into the medbay treatment area as they wheeled Peter's gurney inside. When Tony had tried to push past him, the usually soft-spoken man had threatened to have him sedated if he didn't go elsewhere and let the medical experts do their work.

Looking at his watch again, Tony sighed heavily. It had an hour since they'd arrived and Peter had been rushed into the medbay. An hour, and he still didn't know anything. He'd talked to Happy and learned that he and May were only about an hour out from the Headquarters location. Normally, the drive to the upstate location from New York City took close to three hours. Happy had to have broken every speed limit along the way to be that close already.

More time passed before Tony, frustrated with the lack of information and his inability to make everything right, rose to his feet and began pacing the room. Just as he decided he was going to force his way into the medbay to get an update on Peter's condition, Nat entered the room. She was carrying a large lidded cup in one hand and the tattered remains of a backpack in the other.

"Here," she said, holding the cup out to Tony. "I thought you could probably use this."

He accepted the cup and took a tentative sip. Upon tasting the rich flavor of his favorite coffee blend, he gave her a quick smile of thanks before his expression turned somber again.

"Any word?" Nat asked as she sank down into the chair Tony had just vacated. She gently placed the backpack on the floor beside the chair.

"Nothing. You would have thought Bruce would have kept me updated," Tony said before taking another sip of the coffee. He placed across the room, running his free hand over his face and through his hair so that it stood on end. As he walked by a table, he placed the cup on it and moved away. "That's it," he said decisively, "I'm going in there and demanding an update."

Nat rose to her feet and moved to block Tony. She had communicated with Bruce on her way back from a return trip to search for Peter's belongings in the rubble. He'd told her that they'd nearly lost the boy twice when his heart had stopped, but that he seemed to have stabilized. He was optimistic that Peter's healing abilities had kicked in and were starting to work. "They'll come out and talk to you when they can. For now, let them work. You know he's in good hands. Bruce is with him, and the other doctors here are the best around." She took Tony's arm and led him back to the now vacant chair.

Once Tony was seated, she grabbed the backpack from the floor and dropped it into his lap. "I went back and found this. What remains of his cell phone is in there." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Rhodes and Vision think their part of the recovery operation will be over soon. They've not found any more survivors, and have pulled half a dozen bodies from the rubble."

She pulled a nearby chair over so she could sit beside Tony. He wasn't going to like what she had to say next, and she wanted to be close in case she had to react quickly. "J.J. Jamison is already at it, blaming the explosion on Spiderman. Apparently word has gotten out about him helping with the hostage situation at the bakery. Jamison has connected that with the fact we showed up to rescue one of our own." She paused for a moment to allow Tony time to absorb what she'd said.

The sound of quickly moving feet approaching the waiting area immediately distracted Tony before he could react to what Nat had just told him. He mentally made a note to look into Jamieson and his conspiracy theories. The man seemed to have it out for Spiderman, and it looked like Tony was no longer going to be able to ignore him.

Nat and Tony turned toward the sound just in time to see May, followed by Happy, rushing into the room. "Where is he? Where's Peter?" May demanded as soon as she came to a stop before them.

Tony rose to his feet and shared a look with Happy over May's shoulder. The other man nodded his understanding that what Tony was about to say wasn't good.

Nat briefly touched Tony's shoulder to get his attention, then nodded toward Happy and May. She hadn't met Peter's aunt before, and didn't think now was the right time for an introduction. "I'll go let Bruce know you're here. I'm sure he'll want to talk to you." Giving Tony's shoulder a quick, comforting squeeze she moved off in the direction of the medbay.

"I … ah … sit down," he gestured May toward the seat he'd just vacated. He practically pushed Happy toward the one Nat had pulled over. Glancing around quickly, Tony spotted another chair nearby and went to pull it over.

After a moment of uneasy silence, Tony sighed. "Okay, here's what I know. Peter somehow learned that his friend MJ was one of the hostages being held in a domestic dispute at the bakery where she works. He got off his bus and found an alley where he could change into his Spiderman suit and stash his stuff. After calling me to let me know what he was doing, he did his Spiderman thing - rescued the hostages and helped the cops nab the bad guy. He was back in the alley, giving me a play by play of what happened when what appears to be a gas line exploded." He paused to take a deep breath and rub his hands over his face. "It looks like Peter was at the epicenter of the blast. We went in to rescue him and got him out as quickly as we could." Tony reached out and grabbed one of May's hands in his own. "Peter's seriously hurt. I don't know how seriously yet. Bruce has been with him ever since I pulled him out of the rubble. He's in the medbay right now, but I don't know any of the details."

May pulled her hand from Tony's grasp. Shaking her head in denial she said, "he was still grounded. He shouldn't have doing anything as Spiderman."

Happy scooted his chair closer so he could drape his arm around May's shoulders. "If MJ was in trouble, he wouldn't have given it a second thought. He'd go to help. That's who he is. What's important is that he's in good hands now." He looked up at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.

Bruce rushed into the room, the tails of his lab coat flapping behind him. May came to her feet, anxiously waiting for him to reach her.

"May Parker?" Bruce asked as he held out his hand in greeting. When she nodded he continued, "I'm Bruce Banner. I've been working with the medical team treating Peter." He gestured for her to resume her seat.

He glanced around looking for another chair close by he could pull over. Tony stood and gestured toward his chair. "Here, take this one." Bruce sat in Tony's abandon's seat as the other man moved to stand behind May and Happy. "What's going on with Peter," he demanded in a tone of voice that clearly told Bruce he didn't appreciate having been kept waiting for information.

Bruce's nod was nearly imperceptible as he acknowledged Tony's unspoken words. "I'm not going to sugar coat it. Peter is seriously injured. Although he was still in his suit, it didn't protect him from the impact of the explosion. It looks like the left side of his body was turned toward the blast. My guess is that his spidey sense alerted him to the danger and he turned in that direction just as the explosion happened." He adjusted his glasses and leaned forward to prop his elbows on his knees. "All of his injuries are to the left side of his body. He sustained a skull fracture, a break to his eye socket, and his jaw was broken. His shoulder was dislocated, and he has several broken ribs. His left hip was broken, as was his femur. Those injuries, by themselves would be serious. But, his heart and spleen were bruised." Bruce paused, knowing what he had to say next would be the hardest news they would hear. "Peter's heart stopped twice before we were able to get him stabilized."

May's eyes widened and she blindly reached for Happy's hand. "His heart stopped? Is he . . . ?" She couldn't bring herself to finish her question.

"No," Bruce quickly added. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that." He couldn't bring himself to say the words either, especially since he knew exactly how closed they had come to actually losing Peter. "He's stable. It looks like his healing ability has kicked in. It appears to be working on the internal damage first. He's not completely out of the woods yet, and we don't know what the long term effects of the other injuries will be, but I do think he's going to pull through. It's just going to take a while though, and Peter will have to be closely monitored while he recovers."

May, Happy, and Tony all sighed in relief. "Who's working with you?" Tony asked.

Bruce wasn't the least insulted by his friend's question. He was a good doctor, but he didn't specialize in the types of injuries Peter had sustained. Plus, Peter's abilities complicated matters - especially since there was so much they didn't know about them and how they worked. "Patterson was the doctor on duty when we came in. I've consulted with Helen Cho via video conferencing. She's sending me the formulas for some pain killers and other medications she's developed for Steve. Her thought was that Peter's physiology will be similar to his. I'm going to run some tests with them to make sure they will work with Peter. For right now, though, he's unconscious, which is expected. We're just going to let his body heal itself and hold the meds until we know he needs them."

Bruce knew that Tony and likely Happy understood what he was talking about, but he could tell that May was confused. "How much do you know about Peter's abilities?" he asked her.

"I … ah …" She wasn't sure how to respond. "I really don't know that much. I know he can stick to things and can heal himself. He's also strong. Beyond that, I don't know."

Bruce nodded. "Peter is unique. To our knowledge, there's never been anyone else who gained their powers the same way he did. The closest thing we have is Steve Rogers, but he became a super soldier through experimentation controlled by SHIELD. But with Peter, it was a fluke accident that he was bitten by that spider. We don't know why the spider bite caused those powers to develop or, even if they have reached their full extent. As he grows and matures, he may develop additional powers. There's still so much we just don't know."

Bruce paused a moment before continuing. "As you said, he has the ability to heal himself. However, we don't know the extent of that power. But, we believe that sleep helps accelerate it. So, we believe that him being unconscious is a good thing. We don't know, though, once he wakes up whether he will be fully healed or if he will still be in pain. That's why we're experimenting with the medications."

May nodded her new understanding.

"You said you talked to Helen Cho," Tony interposed, interrupting any further questions May may have been intending to ask. "Is she willing to come here and bring the cradle? If it's a matter of cost, I'll pay whatever it takes."

Bruce studied his friend for several seconds before answering. "Yes, Dr. Cho and I discussed her coming and bringing the cradle. She could be here and have it set up in about 72 hours." He held up a hand to forestall any comments Tony may have been about to make. "However, she believes, and so do I, that the cradle would pose more risk to Peter than the potential good it could do."

May had no idea what the two men had been talking about. "What do you mean it could do more harm than good? What are you talking about? What the heck is a cradle?" She demanded.

Happy gave May's shoulders a supportive squeeze. He'd known just a little bit about Dr. Cho and her cradle. Even though he was privy to a lot of the Avengers' and SHIELD's secrets as Tony's driver and trusted confidant, there was still a lot he didn't know, and he'd had the same questions May had just voiced.

"To put it simply, the cradle is a device that heals wounds by regenerating tissue," Bruce responded matter of factly.

"If it can do that, why not use it on Peter?" May demanded, still somewhat confused.

"Because we don't know how it would react with Peter's abilities." Bruce paused to gather his thoughts. "The cradle essentially identifies something wrong with a human body and works to repair it. We know that whatever caused Peter to gain his abilities from that spider bite has rewritten his DNA. To what extent, we don't know. The cradle has only been used in the past to heal gunshot wounds and broken bones. We also don't know whether the cradle would read those changes to Peter's DNA as a threat to his body and try to heal or eliminate it."

"And in the process it could end up killing him rather than healing him," Tony interrupted.

"Yes, in a worst case scenario," Bruce agreed. "Or, it could strip those changes from his DNA, leaving him physically healed but without his powers."

"Neither of which is an acceptable option," Happy said, speaking up for the first time as the others voiced their agreement. Although the idea of Peter losing his powers and returning to a normal life had some appeal, Spiderman was too much a part of who he was for that to ever be a reasonable option.

"Right now, we're in a waiting game," Bruce said gently, knowing no one really wanted to hear that. "We have to see what Peter's healing ability is going to do on its own. If his condition worsens, we can reassess whether the cradle is a viable option. But, I wouldn't recommend using it unless there are no options left." He rubbed a hand over his chin and sighed wearily. The stress of the last few hours was catching up with him, and he was beginning to feel fatigued. He knew he couldn't give into it, though. As much as he wanted to rest, his friends needed him more.

"Dr. Cho is also going to put me in touch with someone who might be able to give us some more insight into how to treat Peter's injuries and work with his healing abilities."

"Who?" Tony demanded. He'd seen his friend's gesture and understood exactly what it had meant. Ordinarily, he would have demanded Bruce take a break and rest, but these weren't ordinary circumstances. It was Peter's life that was on the line.

"A neurosurgeon," Bruce replied. "A Dr. Stephen Strange. I've heard of his work. At one time he was considered the top in his field . . . ."

"At one time?" May interrupted. "What does that mean?"

"He was in a car accident a few years ago that severely injured his hands and effectively ended his career. He disappeared afterwards. Apparently, Helen knows where he is and can put me in touch with him. She told me he has some knowledge about super human abilities and powers," Bruce explained. "I'll let you all know more after I've talked to him."

He signed again and rose to his feet. "Now, I can take you in to see Peter for a few minutes. You won't be able to stay long, but at least you can see him. I warn you, though, he looks pretty rough. His face is swollen and bruised, and we have him in what is essentially a body brace to help hold the broken bones in place until his body can heal them. We also have him on a number of monitors to keep track of his vital signs."

The color drained out of May's face at the idea of how her nephew was going to look when she went in to see him. Bruce gestured for her and Happy, who had joined her, to precede him toward the doorway that opened into the hallway leading to the medbay. He hung back a moment, as he could tell Tony wanted to say something out of earshot of May Parker.

"What haven't you told us?" Tony demanded, moving to stand beside his friend.

"I've told you everything I know at this point," Bruce replied. "Except that I'm concerned about what long term side effects these injuries might have on Peter and his abilities. There are just too many unknowns here for my liking."

Tony responded to Bruce's statement with a hard look that clearly said he was calling bullshit on what his friend had just said.

Seeing that Tony wasn't going to buy his evasive answer, Bruce signed heavily. He removed his glasses with one hand and rubbed the other one over his eyes. "According to Cho, Dr. Strange is some kind of sorcerer who can wield some sort of mystical energy. She wouldn't tell me anything more than that. I don't know if she doesn't know anything more herself or if she's afraid of what I might do with the knowledge. She still doesn't trust me completely over the whole Ultron fiasco." He replaced his glasses and turned to look at Tony. "I have an idea I want to discuss with him. I don't know how viable it is or if it's even a realistic option, so I didn't want to say anything about it right now."

Tony nodded. He wanted to press his friend for more information, but he also knew he would be wasting his time and energy. If Bruce said he didn't want to say anything, there was no power on Earth that could compel him to say anything. "Let me know," he said simply as he turned to join May and Happy at the doorway.

Again, Bruce sighed heavily as he went to lead them to the room in the medbay where Peter was, hopefully, healing and recovering from his injuries. He hated having so many unknowns, but he also knew there weren't a lot of options available for finding the answers.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** This chapter was hard for me to write. I had a general idea of where I wanted it to go, but I kept changing my mind about how to get there. If I had to guess, I probably rewrote the beginning of it three or four times. It would probably help if I actually outlined my stories rather than just winging it - but where's the fun in that?

I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy. If you enjoy this chapter, please post a review. I love seeing what people think of my work.

 **CHAPTER 13**

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do about it," Tony demanded as he moved into Dr. Patterson's personal space. The doctor had just reported that the latest readings from all of the machines monitoring Peter's condition indicated that the teenager was slowly regaining consciousness, which was a good sign that he was healing well, but that he was also in significant pain. Tony took another step closer so that his face was mere inches from the other man's. "I pay you an insane amount of money to do a job. I expect you to do it."

"Tony," Bruce said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder and drawing him back. He hesitated a moment when Tony rounded on him. His face was set in an angry expression that Bruce knew hid fear for Peter. "Yelling at him isn't going to help. I've told you, Peter's spider mutation is making things difficult." He held up a placating hand. "We're still trying to find a sedative or pain reliever that will not cause an adverse reaction. Everything we've tried so far in lab testing has caused harmful results. We want to help Peter, not hurt him further."

"Then what are you doing up here instead of in your lab?" Tony demanded.

Natasha glanced up from where she was sitting beside Peter's bed, trying to sooth him with calming words and a cool cloth on his forehead. She was debating whether she needed to intervene when a portal opened nearby and Stephen Strange stepped through.

"He is here because he asked me to consult on Mr. Parker's care," the sorcerer responded as he stepped through the portal and closed it behind him. He glared in Tony's direction for a moment as if daring the other man to say anything, then turned toward Dr. Patterson. "Do you have his latest test results?" Accepting the folder from the other physician, he pursued the computer generated information.

"Am I to understand Mr. Parker has some type of healing or regenerating power?" He asked the room in general.

"Yes," Bruce replied, moving to place himself between Tony and Dr. Strange. For some reason, he really didn't trust his friend's temper at the moment, and Strange's lack of bedside manner was well known. "From what we have been able to discern, his powers come from genetic mutations caused by a radioactive spider bite. We don't know exactly what caused the mutations or how they work. I've taken blood and tissue samples and have been testing different formulations of sedatives and painkillers, but they all seem to have either no effect or an adverse effect on the samples in lab testing." Bruce held his hand out for the file and nodded when Dr. Strange handed it to him. He flipped through it before pulling out a couple of pages. "The latest scans show that the damage to his heart and spleen have nearly healed. From what I can tell, his healing mutation has moved on from those organs to let them finish healing on their own. It looks like it is now working on the skull fracture. It has healed more than one would expect in the week it has been since the explosion."

Dr. Strange studied the test results he had been handed. "Exactly why did you summon me?"

"I'd like to know the answer to that as well," Tony said, asserting himself back into the conversation. "Unless there's something I'm missing, Mr. Wizard here is no longer a doctor."

The room went silent at his angry words. Dr. Stranger took a step into Tony's personal space and held up his hands. "I may no longer be able to use these to perform surgery." The scarring and damage done to his hands during the car crash that had ended his career was still readily visible. "But I still have my knowledge and ability to reason." He made a nearly imperceptible movement with his left hand and a ball of light glowed on the tips of his fingers. "And I have other skills which may be useful." Dr. Strange took a step back and looked around the room. "I had been given that Mr. Parker's aunt has custody of him. Is she here? I would speak with her."

Bruce stepped in to separate the two men. "May signed over medical custody to Tony." He ignored Tony's snort of derision. The fact that May had returned to the city in order to return to work was a sore topic with Tony. She had told them that she had been warned by her employer that she would not miss any more work or her job would be terminated. Tony had offered to place a call to her employer or to even have Pepper find her a position in one of his businesses. May had refused. Tony wasn't happy about it, and he was even unhappier that Pepper had sided with May when he had complained to her about the other woman's decision.

Turning to Dr. Strange, Bruce continued. "I wanted to know if, given your particular skill set, you knew of a way to help alleviate some of Peter's pain until we can find something to help him. We're beginning experiments with various altered spider venoms, and we're hopeful that we'll get something from that. But, it's going to take time."

Dr. Strange nodded his understanding of Bruce's request. He glanced in Tony's direction to see if the other man was going to continue his antagonism or if he would be allowed to speak. "My particular skill set, as you call it, allows me to manipulate time and energy. I could alter his brain waves to temporarily send him back into unconsciousness. It would buy you some time to find some medication which will help him which his body continues to heal."

All eyes turned to Tony, who had the ultimate decision regarding Peter's medical treatment. He pinned Bruce with a questioning look.

"I think it's the best option right now. Nothing else we have is helping."

"Go ahead," Tony ordered. He didn't like it, but it seemed there was no other option. "But understand this, Strange. If anything you do causes him harm in any way, I will do everything within my power to destroy you."

"I would expect nothing else," Dr. Strange responded as he stepped toward Peter's bedside. He glanced at Nat, who was still stroking a cool cloth across Peter's forehead. He had previously noticed her mummering something to the teenager. "Please, continue what you have been doing. It has been helping."

Nat nodded as she shifted to give the sorcerer more room. "What are you going to do?" she asked. Unlike Tony, who was ruled by science and what he could observe with his eye, she was willing to accept there were things beyond her understanding.

Dr. Strange studied her face and realized the spy was genuinely interested in rather than suspicious of his ability and plan to help Peter. "It's difficult to explain exactly what I will be doing. Basically, I will send a signal to Peter's brain that will essentially tell it to reset itself. It will allow him to sink back into unconsciousness for a period of time while he continues to heal."

Nat nodded and watched as Dr. Strange reached out and touched two fingers to Peter's temple. A yellow light seemed to glow from the connection. Through the hand she'd kept on Peter's shoulder she could feel the tension leaving his body until it was as relaxed as it had been when he was unconscious.

"He can still sense your presence, although he is not able to react to it." Dr. Strange said as he began to move away from Peter. Nat nodded in response.

Tony watched the sorcerer with an eagle eye, ready to pounce on him the moment anything went wrong. When the machines monitoring Peter's condition began returning to the readings they had shown before Peter had begun regaining consciousness, he relaxed slightly.

"If you can manipulate time, why can't you go back and prevent this from happening?"

Dr. Strange turned to study Tony as he considered the question the other man had asked. Withdrawing into himself as he viewed all of the possibilities arising from that scenario. "Because what happened was always supposed to happen. The future timelines depend on what happened in the past." With that, the sorcerer opened a portal with a twist of his hand and moved to step through it. "Call me again if his condition changes. I will see if I can find anything that might help." He turned and the portal closed behind him.

Less than thirty seconds later the portal reopened. Everyone in the room turned toward it in anticipation of seeing Dr. Strange stepping back through. Instead, a single arm holding what appeared to be a shopping bag extended through the opening. Bruce was closest, so he stepped forward and accepted the package, watching in amusement as the arm retracted and the portal once again closed. He looked down at the bag in his hand and spotted the note attached to the side.

Sitting the bag on the floor, he pulled the note off and began reading it outloud. "From Wong for Peter. The runes are for peace, rest, and healing." Now even more curious, Bruce bent and reached into the bag. He withdrew a silken blanket in a pale gold color. It was covered in cryptic symbols that he could only assume were the runes mentioned in the note. Shrugging he moved to hand the blanket to Nat, who still sat beside Peter's bed. She rose to her feet and unfolded the blanket, then spread it over the small, prone body in the hospital bed.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

Pain. Overwhelming pain. That's all Peter was aware of as he began regain consciousness. Every molecule in his body hurt. He wanted to scream, or at least tell someone about it, but he couldn't surface enough to make a noise. He tried to move, but his body was unresponsive. He started to panic, but a new sensation made its presence known. Something cool was stroking his forehead and there was a voice mummering something into his ear. He couldn't make out what was being said, but he found it soothing. He latched onto those sensations, and they helped to calm him.

Eventually he heard raised voices in the background, but he was unable to understand what was being said. He chose to ignore them, instead continuing to concentrate on the soothing touch and voice. He didn't know how much time passed before he felt another, unfamiliar touch on his temple. A pleasant warm sensation began radiating from the touch, and he felt himself sinking back into the welcome darkness.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

No one had seen Tony in the four days since he had turned and stormed out of Peter's hospital room after Dr. Strange's visit. Everyone had hoped he would get over his snit and emerge on his own, but Bruce had decided enough was enough and had decided to stage an intervention.

"Tony?" Bruce said as he entered the lab. "Are you in here?" There was no response to his question, but Bruce could hear movement near the back of the lab. Shaking his head in resignation, he began making his way in that direction. The lab was a mess, and Bruce had to sidestep various discarded tools and piles of materials. He had never seen the lab in such a state, and Bruce became even more concerned for his friend. Even in his worst state, Tony had never left the lab in such a shambles.

Bruce smelled Tony before he spotted him. It was obvious the man hadn't showered in days, and from the look of him, it had been that long since he'd slept. "When was the last time you slept or ate?" he asked by way of greeting.

Tony shrugged in response and continued working. "Didn't you hear what Strange said?" Tony asked without looking up. There was a hint of mania in the tone and in his eyes. "There's something coming in the future. I have to make sure Peter is protected. I didn't do that before. Because of that, he's lying unconscious in a hospital bed. I have to make sure that never happens again."

Bruce shook his head and stepped into Tony's personal space. "You need a shower, some food, and about a day's worth of sleep. Letting yourself get into this shape isn't going to help Peter, now or in the future." He grasped his friend's arm and tried to pull him away from the workbench.

Tony tried to pull his arm from Bruce's grasp, but he was too weak. "I can't, Bruce. Don't you see? I didn't make his suit strong enough before. It should have protected him from the blast. I have to fix that." Ignoring his concerned friend, Tony turned back to the workbench.

Bruce pulled out his cellphone and quickly sent a text. After stuffing the phone back into his pocket, he looked around for something, anything, to use to distract Tony from his current obsession. He spotted a mangled cell phone hooked to a nearby computer.

"Is that Peter's phone?" he asked, moving to pick it up.

"Yes," Tony said as he took it from his friend's hand and placed it back on the table.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" Tony asked shortly.

"Did you find anything on it, or am I going to have to look for myself?" Bruce again reached for the phone.

"I found the last series of texts between Peter and his friend, MJ." Tony responded with a sigh. He knew his friend well enough to know he wasn't going to let this go. He was also just out of it enough to not recognize that Bruce was using the phone as a diversionary tactic.

"And?"

Tony grunted as he pulled the retrieved message up on the computer screen. They both read, "thank you, Spiderman." Bruce shared a look with Tony. "She knows?"

"Looks that way." He turned to his friend. "Thing is, I don't know what to do about it. Peter's friend, Ned, knows. But, he's afraid of me and won't let it slip - at least not intentionally. I don't know MJ."

"I get the impression from her text messages that she's known for a while, and she hasn't said anything," Bruce responded. "Get some rest and some food, and think on it. The answer will come to you."

Bruce moved away from the table, drawing Tony's eyes away from the doorway and the figure slipping in. "I came to tell you I think Dr. Cho and I have found something. We're testing something derived from black widow venom."

He didn't miss the irony as Natasha stepped up behind Tony and applied pressure to a point in his neck, calling him to immediately lose consciousness. Bruce stepped forward and caught his friend as he fell and gently laid him on the floor. "Friday," he called. "Could you ask Vision to come to the lab to give us a hand."

"Certainly, sir," came the AI's response.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review this story. I love seeing your comments in my inbox. I also accept constructive criticism (it's how I improve as a writer) and suggestions.

I'm bouncing between writing this story and my new Supernatural story, "And Krissy Makes Three". I do intend to write at least one more chapter for this story, but it may be a little while before it gets posted.

There's some discussion of medical procedures in this chapter. I don't know much about them, so I apologize in advance for any errors I've made. If anything is glaringly wrong, please let me know so I can correct it.

 **CHAPTER 14**

Peter groaned as he once again resurfaced into consciousness. He felt stiff and sore, like he'd been in one position for too long. He tried to shift position, but he couldn't move, and he began to panic.

"Peter, it's okay. You're fine. Why don't you open your eyes." The voice sounded familiar to Peter, but he couldn't remember why. There was something niggling in the back of his mind - like there was something he should know but couldn't remember. That, combined with the voice and his inability to move, caused his panic to increase. He heard a machine beginning to beep frantically somewhere nearby.

"Peter!" The voice came again, this time in a much sterner tone. "Open your eyes and look at me. Now!" There was a ring of command in the voice that Peter was unable to ignore.

It took effort, but Peter forced his eyes to slowly open. He immediately closed them again and groaned at the bright light in the room.

"Friday, dim the lights by fifty percent," the voice directed. "And, somebody go find Tony and get him in here."

Peter was more sure than ever that he knew that voice. He just couldn't place it at the moment. And where was Tony?

"Come on, Peter. Let's try that again. Let me see your eyes."

Groaning, Peter once again opened his eyes a slit. Seeing that the room wasn't as bright as before, he opened them wider and turned to look in the direction of the voice. "D … Dr. Banner?" He croaked, swallowing hard to try and get some moisture in his dry mouth.

"Sh, don't talk yet," Bruce told him as he rose from his chair and quickly walked across the room. He returned seconds later holding a paper cup with a straw sticking out of it. Sliding one behind Peter's shoulders Bruce lifted him slightly and brought the straw to his lips. "Here, take a sip," he said.

Peter gladly latched onto the straw and began sucking. Cool water filled his mouth and quenched the parched tissue.

"That's enough, you don't want to get sick." All too soon the straw was withdrawn and the cup was placed on the nearby table. "I'll let you have some more in a few minutes," Bruce said as he lowered Peter back to the bed.

"What's going on?" Peter asked, his voice slightly stronger. "Where am I?"

"You're in the medbay at Avenger's Headquarters," Bruce replied. While he talked, he took at glance at the readout on the monitor just past Peter's right shoulder. The teenager's vitals were starting to become stronger. "What do you remember?"

Peter thought for a moment. His head hurt, and trying to think back took a lot of effort. After several seconds he responded, "I'd helped the police with that hostage crisis at the bakery and was in the alley changing back into my clothes. I was on the phone with Tony. I don't remember anything after that."

Bruce nodded. He was actually surprised that Peter had remembered that much of the events leading up to the explosion. "There was a gas line explosion. You were right on top of it." Bruce looked away for a moment to gather his thoughts. "If you hadn't had the abilities you have, and if it weren't for the suit you were still wearing, you would have been killed. As it was, you were seriously injured. You can't move because we have you in a body cast while all of your broken bones heal. You suffered a number of internal injuries, and your healing ability concentrated on those first. Now that you're conscious, we'll do some more x-rays to check on your healing progress and see if we can remove any of it." Bruce paused. He could tell Peter was starting to slip back into sleep - at least he hoped it was just sleep and not a return to the coma he had been in for the previous three weeks. As he stood, Bruce smoothed a lock of curly hair away from Peter's forehead. "Get some rest, we'll talk more later." And maybe they could get Tony out of his lab to spend some time with Peter, Bruce thought to himself.

Peter nodded and allowed himself to sink back into unconsciousness. He'd still had a lot of questions, but he was too tired to ask them or to concentrate on the answers. The one thing that bothered him the most as he fell asleep was that Tony wasn't there and Bruce hadn't mentioned him.

When Bruce was sure Peter was sound asleep, he quietly moved to the nearby computer and made some notes in Peter's chart. He checked the readings of Peter's vitals and confirmed that the teenager had, in fact, just fallen into a deep sleep rather than slipped back into a coma as he'd initially feared. Sighing heavily, he left the room, closing the door softly behind him. He started slightly when he spotted Nat waiting on him a few feet away.

"Is he?" The concern was obvious in the woman's face. She'd heard Bruce's yelled command and hadn't allowed herself to think what it might have meant. As she'd left to go find Tony she'd taken some comfort in the fact that no one had come running to tend to an emergency in Peter's room. Still, she hadn't let herself feel any hope that there had been a sudden improvement in his condition. She was just too pessimistic by nature for that to happen.

Bruce shook his head, knowing she was fearing the worst. "He woke up briefly. He's back asleep now. I told him what happened, but not the extent of his injuries."

Nat let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she waited for Bruce's answer. "That's good, right? That he's waking up?"

Bruce shrugged. "Probably. I can't really be sure. His vitals are good, and he doesn't seem to be in as much pain. I think we should do some more scans to check his healing progress. I'm going to talk to Patterson about that, although knowing him, he's already planned for them." He studied Nat's face for a moment. "You find Tony? He'll want to be here when Peter wakes up again." He was still a little surprised that Peter hadn't asked for him.

Nat shook her head. "I couldn't find him anywhere. When I asked Friday about his whereabouts, she only replied that he had left the base. She couldn't or wouldn't tell me where he's gone."

"You try to call him?"

"Yeah, and he didn't pick up. I'm about ready to track him down the old fashioned way and beat some sense into him when I find him. Then, when I'm done with him I'll turn him over to Pepper. She wants a shot at him, too."

Bruce gave her a sad smile. He was sure she'd do exactly what she's said, and he couldn't say he disagreed with her. However, he did feel a little sorry for his friend at the idea of him having to face an angry Pepper Potts. Tony needed someone to knock some sense into him and get him over his obsession with protecting Peter from any possible future harm. Bruce figured if anyone could do it, it would be Nat and Pepper.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

"Miss Jones, could I have a word with you?"

The unexpected voice startled MJ as she stepped through the bakery door, causing her to jump slightly. She looked around at the direction of the voice and spotted a man leaning against the brick wall a few feet from the entrance to the bakery. The man was of average height and was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, a baseball cap and sunglasses. What she could see of his face was lined with exhaustion and worry. Despite the disguise, it wasn't hard for her to recognize Tony Stark.

MJ looked around to see who might be watching them. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, she stepped closer. "About what, Mr. Stark?" she said. Her suspicion was very evident in her voice.

Tony straightened. He was already impressed with the young woman in front of him. He doubted most people would have recognized him so quickly, and, they did, wouldn't have let him see their suspicion. "It's about Peter, and we need to talk in private," he said, nodding toward his nearby car. At MJ's narrowed eyes, he quickly reassured her. "We'll just sit in the car so we can talk in private. We won't go anywhere. You have my word." Tony removed his sunglasses so she could see his eyes and judge his sincerity. He needed Peter's friend to trust him, not be afraid of him - at least not yet. That would come later, depending on the results of their upcoming conversation.

MJ studied him closely. Judging that he was being truthful with her, she nodded and moved in the direction of the car. Tony beat her there, and opened the front passenger door for her. After she was seated, he closed the door, rounded the car, and took his place in the driver's seat.

MJ didn't give him a chance to say anything. Instead, the moment he closed his car door she asked, "Where is Peter, and what kind of condition is he in?"

It was Tony's turn to be slightly taken aback. He'd had a whole speech planned, and MJ's question threw him off track. "What makes you think anything is wrong with Peter?"

MJ scoffed at Tony's question. "One," she said, holding up a single finger, "he hasn't been seen for over three weeks. No one seems to know where he is, and May Parker isn't answering the phone or responding to texts or emails. Two," a second finger joined the first. "He isn't responding to my text messages, either. And, three," a third finger is held up. "I know he's Spiderman."

That last statement threw Tony for a bit of a loop. He'd expected to have to coax or threaten her into confessing to her knowledge. He could see why Peter was so fond of this young lady. "How long have you known? Did he tell you?" Tony asked as he turned in his seat to face MJ. The tone of his voice and his face both conveyed how seriously he took that last question.

The young woman sitting beside him just shook her head in amusement. For such a smart man, Mr. Stark could be pretty dense, she mused to herself. "I've known since Washington D.C., and I figured it out for myself. Peter's never said anything about being Spiderman."

Tony continued to study her. He wouldn't admit it, but he was impressed. "How did you figure it out?" he asked.

MJ laughed. "It wasn't that hard. All I did was pay attention. I mean, Peter disappears and Spiderman shows up? Plus, why else would Spiderman be in D.C. He'd only been seen in Queens before that. He just happens to show up in D.C. when things start going wrong?" She shrugged. "I never said anything to Peter about it until I texted him during the hostage situation. If he'd wanted me to know, he'd have said something. " She turned to meet Tony's gaze and her face turned serious. "I won't ever tell anyone about Peter being Spiderman. I swear. I would never put him in that kind of danger. Now, answer my questions. Where is Peter, and how badly is he hurt?"

Tony nodded, signaling that he accepted her explanation. He thought about asking MJ why she'd texted Peter for help, but the answer was rather obvious. Sighing heavily he ran his hand over his face. There wasn't any sense in trying to evade her question. He had a feeling she'd just press the issue until he gave in. Given how exhausted he was, that wouldn't take long. "You remember that gas line explosion that happened a few blocks from here?"

"Yeah," MJ responded suspiciously.

"Peter was in that alley when the explosion occurred. He'd picked that location to change out of his suit and was caught in the blast. He was injured and has been recovering in the medbay at Avengers Headquarters. Given his . . . ," Tony searched his mind for the appropriate word. "Abilities," he finally said. "He couldn't be treated in a regular hospital. The doctors at Avengers Headquarters are used to dealing with special cases like Peter's." Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steadying himself before continuing. "As for his condition … if Peter had been normal, without his abilities, he would have been killed in the blast. He was at the epicenter of it. I will spare you the details, but let's just say his injuries were severe. He's been kept sedated to allow his body to heal itself, but he's expected to recover. No one knows exactly how long that's going to take," he said.

"Can I come see him? Maybe sit with him?" MJ asked. Deep down she'd already known something serious was going on for Peter to have disappeared the way he had. The rumor around school was that he'd been in some kind of accident, but nobody knew any details.

Tony shook his head. "That's not really a good idea right now. He might be able to have visitors when he wakes up, but not now." Seeing the stricken look that crossed MJ's face in the split second before she schooled her features, Tony quickly came up with an alternative. God, he was getting soft where anything related to Peter was concerned, he thought to himself.

"Give me your phone. I'll program in a number you can call or text to ask about Peter." He held his hand out for the device and waited patiently as the young woman retrieved it from the small bag that was resting at her hip. She activated the device and handed it to Tony.

"You can contact me any time on this number. If I'm not available, my AI, Friday, will answer. You can leave a message with her, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. I'll let her know that she has permission to give you information about Peter, so she may be able to answer some of your questions as well." He saved the inputted data and handed the phone back to MJ before pulling out his own device. "What is your number, so I can contact you when Peter's condition improves?" He input her information into his phone.

As he put his phone back in his pocket, he ignored the icons for the missed calls and the multiple text unread messages. He figured Nat or Bruce had noticed his absence from HQ and had been trying to contact him. He didn't need them to check up on him every second or to hover around him. He was a grown man and could take care of himself perfectly well.

Tony's eyes met MJ's. "I think it goes without saying that I'm willing to take a chance on giving you that number because you obviously care about Peter. However, if you share that number with anyone - and I mean anyone - I will see to it that you are cut off from all information about him. Is that clear?"

MJ nodded. "Yes, sir." She'd had no intentions of sharing his number anyway. She understood this was a test of her loyalty to Peter and her ability to keep such important information private.

"Good girl," Tony responded, earning a scowl from MJ. "Now, can I drive you home or something?"

"No, thanks," MJ said as she reached for the door handle. "I'd rather walk. It's only five blocks." She wanted the time to process the information she'd just been given.

Tony nodded his understanding and watched as the young woman stepped out of the car and closed the door softly. Tony watched her walk away, and when she'd reached the end of the block he started the vehicle's engine and pulled into the stream of traffic. That task was done, now he needed to get back to headquarters to continue working on his latest project.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

"Welcome back, Mr. Stark," Friday stated when Tony entered the Avengers Headquarters building. He glared up in the general direction of the sensor installed to allow her access to the entrance of the building. There was something a bit snippy about her greeting. "Dr. Banner and Ms. Romanov have been looking for you."

"What do they want," he asked. He entered an elevator, intending to head back to his lab to resume working on the upgrades to Peter's suit. He'd thought about going by medbay, but the additional protections the suit would provide when it was finished was more important.

"You will need to speak to them about that, sir," Friday responded. "However, it may have something to do with the change in Mr. Parker's condition."

Tony stopped in his tracks. It hadn't occurred to him that Peter's condition could have changed while he was away. "What?" he demanded. "How has Peter's condition changed?"

"You will need to speak to Ms. Romanov or Dr. Banner regarding that, sir," Friday responded. Yes, definitely snippy, Tony thought. He was going to have to do something about her programming. She was becoming a bit too much of a smart ass for his liking.

Tony sighed and ran his hands over his face. He was exhausted, but he wasn't willing to give into it. There was too much that he needed to do.

"Where are Nat and Bruce?" he asked.

"Ms. Romanov is currently in the kitchen fixing a snack, and Dr. Banner is in the medbay."

Tony debated. He didn't really want to talk to either of his friends at the moment. He just wanted to disappear back into his lab. But, he knew Nat would eventually come looking for him. Bruce, on the other hand, would probably wait until Tony sought him out. "What is Bruce doing in the medbay?"

"He appears to be consulting with Dr. Patterson regarding Peter's case."

He nodded to himself. That all seemed to him like nothing had changed. Making up his mind, Tony strode off in the direction of his lab. He would go down to the medbay in a couple of hours to check on Peter. Until then, his work to upgrade Peter's suit was more important. That's what he needed to focus on.

He couldn't get the image of Peter's broken body lying motionless in the rubble of the collapsed building out of his head. It was his fault that Peter hadn't been better protected because he hadn't designed the spiderman suit well enough. Remedying that perceived oversight had become his newest obsession, even to the point that he had practically abandoned Peter to the care of Nat, Bruce, and the medbay personnel.

AC/DC was singing loudly about shooting to thrill in the lab when Nat walked through its glass doors. She was slightly surprised when she wasn't challenged by Friday. The AI normally guarded Tony's lab space like his own personal junkyard dog. Either the AI was as fed up with Tony as the rest of them were, or Tony had given instructions to allow access. Nat wasn't sure which it was, and she didn't particularly care.

The spy observed Tony unnoticed as he manically manipulated the images on the holographic screens in front of him. He looked like he hadn't slept or eaten for days, and he could definitely use a shower and a shave. Nat pulled her cell phone from her pocket. After taking a picture she quickly typed a text message and hit send.

She made no effort to disguise her approach as she neared Tony's work station. He didn't so much as glance in her direction. "Friday, save his work and shut it down."

"What the Hell?" Tony said angrily as Friday followed Nat's instructions. "Friday, you forget who's boss here. Turn everything back on " he demanded while glaring angrily at Nat.

"Friday!"

The AI ignored the command. Her continuing silence was condemning.

"Friday, I built you, and I can take you apart just as easily. So unless you want to end up on a scrap heap somewhere, I suggest you do as I say." Tony was practically yelling in anger and frustration by the time he finished his threat.

"Looks like she's as fed up with you as the rest of us are," Nat stated dryly as she took a step in Tony's direction. Reaching out she grasped his jaw in her hand, preventing him from looking away. His reflexes were too slowed by fatigue to stop her, and he couldn't break free. His eyes angrily met hers.

"Did you even stop to ask about the change in Peter's condition?" She demanded.

"Change? What change?" Tony was instantly on high alert. "Nat …"

"No," she said, interrupting him. "I'm doing the talking. You're doing the listening." She paused to take a breath. Letting go of her grip on Tony's jaw, she took a small step back. She was confident she had his full attention. "No one blames you for what happened to Peter. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. You've practically abandoned Peter to hide away in this lab doing God knows what. This isn't helping him."

"I have to keep him safe, Nat." The fatigue was evident in Tony's voice.

"You do keep him safe. You've supplied him with a state-of-the-art suit that's worlds beyond what he used to use."

Tony gave a snort of derision at the memory of Peter's first homemade Spiderman suit.

"You make sure he abides by the rules set for his safety," Nat continued as if Tony hadn't interrupted her. "What happened was an accident. No one could have anticipated it, and no one could have prevented it. Not even the best suit would have prevented him from getting hurt."

"You don't know that," Tony replied as he rubbed his hand over his face.

"I do know that, Tony." She moved until she was once again in his line of sight. "You need to go clean yourself up, then spend some time with Peter. Don't make me pull rank on you with Friday and have her lock you out of here."

Tony scoffed. "Like you could really do that," he said sarcastically.

"Try me," Nat replied as she turned to leave. "I want to see you in Peter's room in twenty minutes, or I'm coming after you." Pausing, she turned back to pin Tony with a look. "You don't want to make me come after you."

Tony watched as Nat left the lab. That woman was scary when she was angry, he thought with a shake of his head. "Friday?" he summoned his AI, frowning when he didn't respond. "Alright, I get the message. I'm going. But you and I are going to have a serious conversation later."

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

The first thing Peter noticed when he woke up the next time was that his bed was moving. At first, he wasn't sure he wasn't just imagining it, but his enhanced hearing picked up the soft squeaking of the turning wheels.

"Hi, Peter," a cheerful voice said from somewhere over his shoulder. "I'm Jackie. Don't worry, I'm taking you down to the imaging room. They're going to take some x rays and do a CT scan to check your healing progress. I'm betting that you're going to lose at least some of that plaster you're wearing."

Peter couldn't see who was talking to him, but the cheerful voice sounded female and young.

"Here we go," the voice behind him said and the bed swung out and then through a wide doorway. The bed rolled to a stop, and Peter could sense the brake being applied to prevent it from rolling any further. A tall young woman with long, bright red hair pulled back into a braid down her back stepped around the head of the bed into his line of sight. She smiled at the young man lying in the bed. "It's nice to finally get to see your eyes open."

"Um . . . thanks," Peter wasn't quite sure what to say in response.

Jackie smiled at him. "I'm going to get my friend Rick in here to help me, and we're going to transfer you to the CT machine. We're going to make sure your internal injuries have healed." She adjusted the sheets and railings in anticipation of the transfer. "That's some wicked healing ability you've got, by the way. I've seen a few of the Avengers healing from injuries, but nothing like you - including Steve Rogers." Jackie glanced over her shoulder when she heard a door open and then close.

"Hey, Rick," she greeted over her shoulder. "Look who's back with us."

"Well, how about that," he said. When he moved into Peter's line of vision, he saw Rick was a middle aged black man. "I'm Rick," he said, introducing himself to the young man lying prone in the bed. "It's good to see you awake."

"Have you ever had a CT scan before," Rick asked as he moved to the side of Peter's bed and began gathering the sheets in his hands.

"I don't think so," Peter replied, a bit nervously. Things were happening so quickly that he couldn't quite grasp what was happening.

"No big deal, bud," Rick said with a smile. "We're going to transfer you on to the bed, then strap you in. You will be taking a trip through the donut as it scans your insides. There's no pain involved, but the machine is a bit noisy. Once we get you situated and ready to go, I'll get you set up with a pair of noise canceling headphones."

The CT scan went just as Rick had described, and was soon followed by full body x rays. By the time all of the imaging tests were finished, Peter was exhausted and was more than happy to be transferred back into his bed. Jackie and Ricky left him in the quiet room with the promise that Dr. Patterson would be along to see him as soon as the images were read.

Peter didn't know how much time passed before the door to the imaging room opened again. He'd dozed off again, but the sound of the door opening brought him back to awareness. This time, the person who entered the room was wearing a white lab coat. He moved quickly to Peter's bedside. "Hello, Peter. I'm sure you're getting tired of people saying how good it is to see you awake, but I'm going to say it anyway. I'm Dr. Patterson, and I've have been taking care of you, along with Dr. Banner, while you've been here. But, I have some good news for you. The injuries you sustained to your heart, spleen, and other internal organs have all healed to the point that there are no signs of previous injury. The fractures to your skull, eye socket, and jaw are almost completely healed." Dr. Patterson paused to let Peter absorb what he'd just said. "Now, your shoulder and ribs still have some healing to do, but I think you're far enough along that we can get rid of that portion of your body cast. Unfortunately, though, your hip and leg still need the stabilization the cast provides. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say you'll be in that cast for another couple of weeks."

Peter just stared at Dr. Patterson in shock. No one had told him that he had sustained those kinds of injuries. "How long have I been out?"

"We've kept you in a magically induced coma for the last three weeks," Dr. Patterson replied with a smile. "You're one lucky young man to have so many people in your corner.


End file.
